CONSIDERATIONS 


UPON 


W  lffitItlITO< 


TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED, 

REFLECTIONS 

ON 

ITS  ACTUAL  STATE  IN  EUROPE, 

AND 
THE  ADVANTAGES  YVHICH  \tOULD  RESULT 


AN  INTRODUCTION  OF  THIS  ART 

INTO 

THE  UNITED  STATES. 


BY  W.  H.  KEATING,  A.  M, 

NX 


"  The  art  of  our  necessities  is  great 
"That  can  make  vile  things  precious." 

SUAKSPEARE. 


Read  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  July  20th,  1821. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

M.  CAREY  AND  SONS—CHESNUT  STREET. 

T/TDIA  R.  BAILET,  PRINTS R. 
1821. 


ON  THE  ART  OF  MINING. 


THE  importance  of  a  science,  or  of  an  art,  may  proba- 
bly, in  most  cases,  be  considered  as  proportional  to  the 
attention  which  it  has  received  from  mankind  in  general, 
or  to  the  degree  of  perfection  which  it  has  attained.  This 
method  of  testing  the  importance  of  an  art  cannot,  however, 
be  said  to  be  correct  in  all  cases.  There  are,  we  believe, 
some  very  important  arts,  which  have  been  overlooked  by 
the  majority  of  men,  and  which  have  consequently  not  kept 
pace  with  the  progress  of  knowledge.  Among  these,  the 
ART  OF  MINING  is  to  be  ranked. 

The  subject  to  which  we  propose  to  call  the  attention  of 
this  Society,  in  the  present  communication,  is  one  which  has 
been  very  incorrectly  judgejl  of,  even  by  those  upon  whose 
authority  we  are  accustomed  to  rely  in  every  respect.  The 
art  of  mining  has  been,  we  apprehend,  misjudged  by  the 
generality  of  writers ;  and  many  individuals  have  been  led 
into  false  and  disastrous  speculations,  by  engaging  in  under- 
takings of  this  nature,  without  having  sufficiently  studied  and 
comprehended  the  subject.  The  errors  of  writers  upon  this 
matter  have  chiefly  resulted  from  their  having  treated  it  too 
slightly,  or  too  exclusively.  Thus,  many  distinguished  au- 
thors, among  whom  we  may  rank  the  celebrated  author  of 
the  "  Wealth  of  Nations,"  have  underrated  the  art  of  mining, 
because  they  had  not  sufficiently  examined  its  nature  and 
object.  They  have  often  mistaken  the  greedy  speculations 
of  the  first  adventurers  in  South  America,  and  the  visionary 
plans  of  the  settlers  in  the  country  so  pompously  styled 
«  El  Dorado,"  for  the  steady,  persevering,  and  arduous 
labour  of  the  true  miner.  They  have  overlooked  the  advan- 
tages which  England  has  derived  from  her  coal  and  iron 
mines,  and  have  only  noticed  the  ruinous  speculations  of 
ill-advised  adventurers:  as  well  might  we  undervalue  the 


fcOtfSIDERATIONS    UPON 


advantages  of  commerce,  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the 
South  Sea  scheme.  Other  authors,  again,  have  treated  this 
subject  too  exclusively.  This  defect  exists  chiefly  in  the 
works  of  German  authors,  who,  blinded  by  their  partiality 
for  their  profession,  would  have  given  it  a  degree  of  import- 
ance to  which  it  was  not  entitled.  Their  wish  was  to  see 
introduced  into  large  monarchies  the  same  institutions  which 
had  been  found  to  answer  in  the  small  communities  which 
composed  the  German  empire,  and  of  which  a  few  still  sub- 
sist, having  weathered  the  political  storms  of  the  last  thirty 
years.  But  a  system  which  answered  in  a  small  principality, 
in  which  the  sovereign  acted  for  the  most  part  like  a  father 
of  a  family,  (possessed,  it  is  true,  of  great  powers  and  privi- 
leges* but  not  regardless  of  the  interests  of  his  subjects,) 
could  not  be  adopted  in  larger  communities,  where  the  king 
acts  under  the  influence  of  his  ministers,  and  where  he  cannot 
be  directed  by  those  paternal  feelings,  which,  it  is  but  justice 
to  acknowledge,  often  actuated  the  lesser  princes  of  Germany. 
Still  less  could  the  plans  recommended  by  these  authors  be 
adopted,  or  even  approved  of,  in  this  country,  where  we  are 
so  jealous  of  the  rights  of  property,  that  nothing  but  the  most 
imperious  necessity  could  induce  us  to  part  with  any  of  those 
rights. 

The  art  of  mining  is  one  of  the  most  important  branches 
of  public  economy.  The  nature  of  this  art, — the  objects 
which  it  embraces, — the  studies  which  it  requires, — the  be- 
nefits which  result  from  it  to  man,  both  by  administering  to 
his  necessities  and  by  increasing  his  comforts, — and,  finally, 
the  great  assistance  which  it  offers  for  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  natural  science  in  general,  tend  to  make  it  one  of 
the  noblest  and  most  interesting  pursuits  to  which  the  atten- 
tion of  man  can  be  called. 

It  is,  we  believe,  almost  impossible  to  determine  with  pre- 
cision the  influence  which  the  art  of  mining  has  had  in  civil- 
izing mankind.  The  imagination  can  scarcely  conceive  the 
wild  and  blank  state  of  a  nation  destitute  of  all  the  metals, 
salts,  and  fuel,  which  we  derive  from  mining.  There  is,  we 
would  be  induced  to  believe,  but  one  stage  lower  than  this 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  5 

in  the  scale  of  human  ignorance, — and  it  is  that  of  those  In- 
dians who  are  said  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  exist- 
ence of  fire. 

The  art  of  working  the  metals  must,  in  the  origin,  have 
heen  the  effect  of  a  first  advance  towards  civilization ;  since 
which,  it  must  be  considered  as  a  cause,  as  well  as  an 
effect,  of  civilization.  Every  improvement  in  this  art  must 
necessarily  have  had  a  striking  effect  upon  the  state  of  soci- 
ety; which  effect  was  again  reflected  upon  the  art  from  which 
it  sprung.  Whatever  may  have  been  its  influence  in  producing 
the  present  refined  state  of  society,  no  question  can  exist  as 
to  its  importance  and  advantages  at  this  time.  When  we 
consider  that  the  most  valuable  aliments  we  take  are  pro- 
duced by  agriculture,  and  that  agriculture  must  cease  to  exist 
as  soon  as  it  is  deprived  of  the  assistance  of  the  metals,  wre 
can  readily  conceive  how  essential  this  class  of  substances  is 
to  our  existence,  and  how  valuable  is  the  art  which  teaches  us 
to  convert  the  crude  and  brittle  ore  into  the  malleable,  pure, 
and  polished  metal. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  henefits  which  it  affords  us. 
The  wool  which  we  manufacture  into  cloth  could  never  have 
assumed  that  form,  if  it  had  not  previously  undergone  opera- 
tions in  which  metallic  instruments  are  indispensable.  The 
habitations  which  protect  us  against  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  from  the  cottage  of  the  peasant  to  the  palace  of  the 
monarch  ;  in  a  word,  every  art  which  tends  to  the  support  or 
comfort  of  life, — all  evince  the  indispensable  use  of  metals. 

The  origin  of  the  art  of  mining,  like  that  of  many  others, 
must  have  taken  place  at  a  very  early  period,  and  the  date 
of  it  is  not  to  be  ascertained.  The  oldest  books  with  which 
we  are  acquainted  speak  of  it  in  very  plain  terms : — 

Thus,  in  the  Genesis,5*  we  find  it  written : 

"And  Zillah,  she  also  bare  Tubalcain,  who  was  an  in- 
structor of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron."f 

The  discrimination  of  the  metals  must  have  taken  place 

*  Chapter  IV.  verse  22. 

j-  We  find  a  different  version  of  this  text  in  other  Bibles,  where  Tubalcain  is 
said  to  have  been  "a  hammerer  and  artificer  in  every  work  of  brass  and  iron," 


6  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

as  soon  as  man  began  to  look  around  him.  Accordingly,  we 
find,  in  the  description  of  the  spot  where  the  Garden  of  Eden 
stood,  speaking  of  rivers,* — 

"  That  is  it  wrhich  compasseth  the  whole  land  of  Havilah, 
where  there  is  gold." 

"  And  the  gold  of  that  land  is  good :  there  is  bdellium  and 
onyx  stone." 

Again,  we  find  it  stated,f  that 

"Abram  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold." 

In  the  writings  of  Homer  and  Hesiod,  the  oldest  profane 
authors  whose  works  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  frequent 
allusions  are  made  to  the  metals ;  and  some  interesting  ob- 
servations on  the  state  of  the  art  can  he  extracted  from  them. 

It  would  be  an  useful  and  an  interesting  task  for  the  anti- 
quary, to  endeavour  to  ascertain  the  manner  in  which  the 
ancients  smelted  their  ores  and  worked  their  mines^  No 
doubt,  their  first  attempts  were  rude,  and  on  a  small  scale ; 
but  on  such  a  subject,  all  additional  information,  however 
minute  and  trifling  in  appearance,  would  be  interesting.  It 
would  throw  much  light  on  the  progress  of  civilization  ;  and 
it  would  be  very  desirable  that  a  person  well  skilled  in  the 
dead  languages,  and  wrell  acquainted  with  the  metallurgical 
processes  now  in  use,  wrould  endeavour  to  trace  the  progress 
of  the  art  from  its  origin,  and  to  determine  the  respective 
periods  at  which  each  metal  was  first  made  known  and 
brought  into  use. 

But  it  is  enough  for  us  to  have  called  the  attention  of  the 
antiquary  to  this  subject.  We  cannot  enter  into  details,  but 
hasten  to  the  main  object  of  this  communication,  which  is  to 
draw  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  a  subject  which  may  be- 
come highly  interesting  to  our  country. 

"  Sella  quoque  genuit  Tubalcain  qui  fuit  malleator  at  faber  in  cuncta  opera 
<(  aeris  et  ferri." 

If  the  word  malleator  (hammerer)  be  not  an  interpolation  of  the  transla- 
tor, it  presents  us  this  interesting1  observation,  that  the  ancients  had  already 
noticed  that  property  of  metals  which  we  call  malleability,  and  that  they  pu- 
rified their  metals  by  hammering, 

*  Chapter  II.  verse  11,  12.  t  Chapter  XIIL  verse  2. 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  7 

We  shall  divide  what  is  to  be  said  on  this  subject  in  three 
parts. 

In  the  FIRST  SECTION  we  shall  state  the  object  of  mining, 
and  the  various  operations  which  the  miner  has  to  perform. 
We  shall  make  known  the  sciences  upon  which  his  art  is 
founded,  and  the  manner  of  applying  them. 

In  the  SECOND  SECTION  we  shall  examine  the  nature  of 
mining,  ascertain  to  what  class  of  property  mines  belong, 
and  determine  the  importance  of  this  art  compared  With 
others. 

The  THIRD  SECTION  shall  include  a  short  sketch  of  the 
actual  state  of  the  art  in  Europe;  to  which  we  will  add  re- 
marks on  the  advantages  which  might  accrue  to  the  United 
States  from  the  introduction  of  this  art.  We  shall  inquire 
into  the  obstacles  which  might  retard  or  obstruct  the  pro- 
gress of  mining  in  this  country ;  and  what  course  should  be 
followed  in  order  to  overcome  these  obstacles. 


SECTION  FIRST. 

Of  the  objects  of  mining,  and  of  the  operations  which  the  miner 
has  to  perform.  Of  the  sciences  upon  which  his  art  is  found- 
ed, and  of  their  application. 

The  art  of  mining  is  that  which  teaches  us  the  manner  of 
obtaining  and  preparing  for  the  use  of  man  the  metals  and 
other  substances  which  exist  in  the  mineral  kingdom. 

The  metals  are  seldom  found  pure : — when  pure,  they  are 
termed  native.  For  the  most  part  they  exist  intimately  mix- 
ed, or  chemically  combined  with  other  metals,  and  with  sul- 
phur, oxigen,  and  other  bodies.  In  this  state  they  are  call- 
ed ores.  Iron,  the  most  useful  of  all  metals,  has,  perhaps, 
never  been  found  native;  lead  and  tin,  certainly  never;  zinc 
and  cobalt  are  always  extracted  from  their  ores.  The  na- 
tive mercury  and  antimony  are  so  rare  as  to  be  merely  ob- 
jects of  curiosity;  and  all  the  mercury  and  antimony  of 
commerce,  are  obtained  by  extracting  these  metals  from  their 


CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

combinations  with  sulphur.  Copper  is  often  found  native ; 
but  always  in  small  quantities.  It  is  from  its  ores  that  it  is 
produced  in  greatest  abundance.  Silver  is  often,  and  gold 
always,  found  native ;  and  these,  with  the  addition  of  plati- 
na,  are  the  only  metals  which  exist  in  sufficient  abundance 
in  the  native  state,  to  make  it  an  object  to  work  them  in  that 
state. 

But  besides  the  substances  which  are  chemically  combined 
with  the  metals  to  form  the  ores,  there  are  a  number  of 
others  which  are  only  mechanically  mixed,  and  which  can 
be  easily  separated.  These  are  for  the  most  part  earthy 
minerals. 

The  task  of  the  miner  may  be  said  to  consist  in  the  fol- 
lowing operations  : — to  find  the  ore — to  extract  it  from  the 
bosom  of  the  earth — to  raise  it  to  the  surface — to  separate 
the  substances  which  are  mechanically  mixed — and  then  to 
submit  the  ore  to  such  metallurgical  process  as  shall  purify 
it  and  free  it  from  all  tbe  substances  which  remained  in  che- 
mical or  mechanical  union  with  the  metal.  In  a  word,  to 
bring  the  metal  to  that  state  of  purity  which  is  required  for 
the  arts.  But,  in  the  performance  of  these  multifarious  du- 
ties, the  miner  will  meet  with  obstacles ;  these  he  must  re- 
move or  overcome.  Thus  he  will  find  himself  in  the  midst 
of  loose  and  disaggregated  materials,  which  threaten  him 
with  instant  destruction.  To  this  he  must  bring  a  remedy. 
Again,  he  will  meet  with  great  volumes  of  water  which  would 
soon  inundate  his  works  if  he  could  not  find  means  of  remov- 
ing them.  In  some  cases  also,  the  light  which  he  uses  to  guide 
his  uncertain  steps,  becomes  his  most  dangerous  enemy;  it 
inflames  the  atmosphere,  an  explosion  takes  place,  and  the 
miner  has  ceased  to  live.  To  this  evil  a  remedy  has  been 
applied  by  that  great  and  powerful  genius,  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  whose  safety  lamp  insures  him  the  gratitude  of  all 
concerned  in  these  dangerous  works.  Our  task  would  be 
endless  if  we  were  to  attempt  to  enumerate  here  every  obsta- 
cle which  the  miner  has  to  encounter.  We  will  now  proceed 
to  examine  the  various  attainments  necessary  to  the  perfect 
miner : — 


THE   ART    OF   MINING.  9 

1.  The  knowledge  of  minerals,  or  MINERALOGY.    This 
teaches  him  to  distinguish  the  useful  from  the  unproductive 
minerals ;  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  each  substance,  and  the 
use  to  which  it  may  he  applied.     Without  the  knowledge  of 
mineralogy,  the  miner  would  he  led  into  innumerable  mis- 
takes.  This  is,  as  it  were,  the  corner  stone  of  his  edifice. 

2.  The  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  minerals  upon  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  This  science  forms  a  part  of  GEOLOGY. 
By  it  we  are  enabled  to  determine  with  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree of  certainty,  where,  and  under  what  circumstances,  we 
may  expect  to  find  the  minerals  we  are  in  search  of.  It  serves 
to  inform  us  how  far  we  may  be  justified  in  searching  after 
certain  ores,  in  certain  rocks ;  and,  as  an  instance,  we  may 
mention,  that  the  miner  acquainted  with  the  first  rudiments 
of  geology,  would  not  search  for  tin  ore  in  a  bed  of  chalk, 
any  more  than  he  would  expect  to  find  rock  salt  in  granite. 
For  want  of  sufficient  regard  to  this  science,  great  expense 
has  often  been  unnecessarily  incurred  by  boring  or  pitting 
for  coal.  In  many  places,  expensive  works  were  commenced 
by  uninstructed  men,  who  merely  took  into  consideration  the 
advantage  which  might  be  derived  from  the  discovery  of  this 
fuel,  without  reflecting  whether  they  were  warranted  in  so 
doing  by  any  reasonable  expectation  of  finding  it.     But  we 
must  be  very  guarded  in  the  application  of  our  geological 
notions,  because  they  are  not  founded  upon  demonstrated 
facts  or  impossibilities,  but  merely  upon  analogies.     It  is 
because  tin  ore  has  always  been  found  under  circumstances 
very  different  from  those  in  which  we  find  chalk,  that  we  are 
induced  to  believe,  a  priori,  that  it  will  not  be  found  with  it. 
But  there  is  no  physical  impossibility  in  its  being  found  in 
the  United  States  in  a  different  situation  from  that  which  it 
presents  in  England,  Germany,  France,  and  Mexico.     We 
should  be  directed,  not  blinded,  by  analogy ;  we  should  con- 
sult it  as  a  prudent,  but  not  an  infallible  adviser. 

3.  The  third  branch  of  the  miner's  studies  is  DOCIMASY, 
or  the  art  of  analyzing  minerals.  To  this  branch  we  are  in- 
debted for  all  that  we  know  of  the  component  parts  of  each 
mineral.     It  is  upon  docimasy,  that  the  great  responsibility 


10  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

(if  I  may  here  apply  the  expression)  of  the  miner's  success 
rests.  Without  docimasy,  mineralogy  would  be  a  science  of 
but  little  use.  The  mineralogist,  it  is  true,  might  probably 
distinguish  his  minerals  without,  as  well  as  with,  its  assist- 
ance ;  he  might  give  them  names,  and  call  them  a,  6,  or  c, 
but  it  is  the  docimastic  chemist,  who,  having  analyzed  them, 
determines  their  nature,  and  affixes  their  value ;  it  is  he  who 
stamps  upon  them  the  rate  at  which  they  are  to  be  received 
in  commerce;  it  is  he  who  tells  us  that  what  the  mineralogist 
had  called  a,  was  an  ore  of  iron,  which  might  be  worked 
with  advantage  to  procure  this  metal ;  that  the  b  of  the  mi- 
neralogist was  an  useful  stone,  from  which  lime  might  be 
obtained  for  the  arts;  while  his  c  had  no  intrinsic  value;  that 
it  might  indeed  adorn  his  cabinet,  or  be  made  to  sparkle  in 
the  hands  of  the  able  jeweller,  but  that  it  never  could  be  of 
any  use  in  the  arts.  Thus  the  docimastic  chemist  may  be 
said  to  give  value  to  the  science  of  the  mineralogist.  But 
he  goes  further ;  after  he  has  determined  that  a  given  mine- 
ral is  an  ore  of  a  certain  metal,  he  tells  us  with  what  sub- 
stances it  is  combined,  in  what  proportion  the  metal  exists, 
whether  the  combination  be  an  intimate  mechanical  mixture, 
or  a  real  chemical  combination,  in  definite  proportions.  And 
this  is  not  all ;  he  tells  us  if  the  ore  can  be  worked  with  ad- 
vantage, and  in  what  manner;  whether  any,  and  if  any,  what 
substances  are  to  be  added  or  taken  away  in  order  to  reduce 
it  to  that  state  of  purity  which  is  requisite  in  the  arts.  Thus 
we  see  how  necessary  to  the  miner  is  an  acquaintance  with 
docimasy,  and  how  often,  and  how  severely  that  man  may  be 
disappointed,  who  looks  for  success  without  a  previous  ac- 
quaintance with  this  science. 

4.  The  fourth  branch  which  enters  into  the  studies  of  the 
miner  is  the  knowledge  of  those  indications  by  which  we  may 
determine  the  extent  and  importance  of  a  mineral  deposit,  the 
existence  of  which  has  been  previously  ascertained.  This 
is  indeed  a  very  important  branch  of  his  art ;  it  is  one  upon 
which  much  depends  in  a  new  country ;  we  will,  therefore, 
not  hesitate  to  speak  of  it  in  detail.  It  is  a  common  idea, 
that  a  person  acquainted  with  mining,  can,  from  a  mere  in- 


THE    ART   OF   MINIXG.  11 

spection  of  the  surface,  decide  whether  there  are  any  mines 
under  ground.  This  opinion  is,  however,  incorrect;  the 
richest  ores  may  be  covered  hy  a  layer  of  vegetable  earth, 
which  conceals  them  entirely  from  the  observation  of  the 
miner.  The  characters  taken  from  the  general  appearance 
of  the  ground,  as  respects  roughness  or  evenness,  have  long 
been  supposed  to  be  useful  in  the  hands  of  the  skilful  miner ; 
but  we  would  observe,  that  the  loftiest  and  most  rugged  peaks 
of  the  Alps  present  no  mines  whatever,  while  the  level  and 
fertile  plains  of  Poland  and  Belgium  cover  rich  deposits  of 
coal,  iron,  lead,  zinc,  salt,  &c.  It  was  at  one  time  imagined, 
that  the  presence  of  metallic  deposits  produced  a  sort  of  in- 
ternal fermentation,  which  impeded  the  progress  of  vegeta- 
tion, and  stinted  the  growth  of  trees ;  to  this  we  answer,  that 
the  German  empire,  than  which  none  is  richer  in  mines,  was 
at  one  time  a  complete  forest,  and  covered  with  the  finest 
trees.  To  the  beauty  and  richness  of  these  forests,  the  Ro- 
man authors  have  borne  testimony ;  and  it  stands  upon  re- 
cord, that  the  whole  of  the  present  rich  mining  district  of 
Freyberg  in  Saxony,  was  at  one  time  one  of  the  thickest  and 
wildest  forests  in  the  empire,  and  that  its  trees  had  attained 
an  uncommon  size.  It  is  true,  the  land  is  now  bare,  and 
scarcely  does  an  "  occasional  pine"  shade  the  cottage  of  the 
poor  miner ;  but  this  we  must  attribute  to  the  works  of  man, 
and  not  to  the  action  of  the  veins  placed  there  by  nature. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise,  in  places  where  we  see  that  the 
ground  has  been  broken  up  in  every  direction,  where  heaps 
of  rubbish  have  been  formed,  and  subsequently  scattered  up- 
on the  country,  and  where  the  very  streams  which  support- 
ed the  vegetation,  have  been  diverted  from  their  natural 
course,  and  made  to  run  into  new  channels  ? 

Another  indication,  which  has  been  used,  we  believe,  not 
with  the  purest  of  motives,  was  that  of  the  divining  rod. — 
Men  were  led  to  believe,  that  with  the  assistance  of  a  rod,  ge- 
nerally of  hazle,  or  some  such  wood,  the  presence  of  mines, 
of  salt,  of  springs,  in  a  word,  of  every  thing  that  was  wished 
for,  could  be  discovered.  Secret  treasures,  it  was  reported, 
owed  their  discovery  to  this  means.  To  those  who  reflect 


12  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

how  great  an  influence  the  astrologers  have  possessed  over 
mankind,  and  how  apt  the  imagination  is  to  be  carried  away 
hy  a  sort  of  admiration  for  every  thing  which  hears  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  supernatural,  it  will  be  no  cause  of  won- 
der, that  in  the  dark  ages  of  superstition  and  ignorance,  the 
belief  in  the  divining  rod,  like  that  in  witchcraft,  dreams, 
fortunetelling,  £c.  should  have  existed  not  only  in  the  multi- 
tude, but  even  in  many  men  superior  to  the  time  in  which 
they  lived.  Indeed,  such  deceptions  are  so  fascinating,  that 
there  are  perhaps  few  persons  who  have  read  the  brilliant 
descriptions  of  the  power  of  the  magic  wand  in  the  oriental 
tales,  and  have  not  felt  a  secret  disappointment  at  the  recol- 
lection that  it  was  but  an  airy  vision,  and  a  wish  that  it 
might  be  embodied  into  reality.  This  disposition  for  the 
marvellous  being  incontestable,  it  is  not  surprising  that  cun- 
ning impostors  should  have  existed,  who  found  it  their  inter- 
est to  increase  this  belief,  and  to  keep  up  the  hopes  of  their 
votaries  by  pretended  discoveries  and  wonders,  the  explana- 
tion of  which  could  not  have  been  readily  given  to,  or  under- 
stood by,  the  unenlightened  multitude  before  whom  these  were 
performed.  But  as  men  became  more  enlightened,  and  as 
they  felt  the  necessity  of  discrediting  every  thing  which 
could  not  be  proved,  the  confidence  in  the  powers  of  the  di- 
vining rod  declined,  and  there  are  but  few,  we  believe,  who 
place  any  reliance  in  it  at  present.  We  would  not  even  have 
dwelt  so  long  upon  this  subject,  if  we  had  not  seen,  in  a  la'te 
very  respectable  publication,*  the  divining  rod  mentioned  as 
an  agent,  whose  efficacy  was  still  the  matter  of  doubt. 

We  repeat  it,  the  miner  has  but  few  indications  to  direct 
him  in  the  search  of  ores ;  it  is  chance  which  throws  them  in 
his  way;  the  richest  mines  known  have  been  discovered  by 
the  merest  accident.  The  labourers  in  the  fields  are  those 
who  have  the  best  opportunity  of  discovering  the  first  indicia 
of  a  mine;  the  plough  accidentally  turns  up  a  stone  which 
the  ploughman  picks  up ;  its  weight  surprises  him ;  it  sparkles 
in  the  sun;  it  has  the  characters  of  a  metal;  he  takes  it 

*  Silliman's  Journal  of  Science,  No.  7.  (Vol.  3,  No.  1.) 


THE   ART   OIT  MINING.  15 

home  with  him,  and  shows  it  to  his  neighbour ;  the  fame  of  his 
discovery  is  soon  spread  about,  and  magnifies  as  it  proceeds ; 
some  traveller  acquainted  with  the  subject  visits  the  spot,  and 
ascertains  the  nature  of  the  mineral  found ;  all  this  is  the 
mere  effect  of  accident,  but  here  begins  the  work  of  the  mi- 
ner; here  he  may  display  his  ingenuity,  or  apply  the  experi- 
ence which  he  has  acquired;  he  is  told  that  the  specimen 
which  he  holds  was  found  in  the  adjoining  field;  he  examines 
the  field ;  he  compares  the  specimen ;  he  studies  the  country ; 
visits  the  valleys ;  observes  the  pebbles  rolled  by  the  neigh- 
bouring streams,  and  endeavours  by  a  careful  search  to  trace 
back  to  its  original  situation  the  specimen  which  had  been 
accidentally  detached  from  it.  Should  his  researches  prove 
successful,  should  he  have  found  the  vein  or  bed,  he  examines 
its  nature,  ascertains  its  extent,  begins  his  works,  sinks  his 
shafts,  and  endeavours  to  determine,  by  pitting  and  boring, 
the  importance  and  value  of  the  mineral  deposit.  It  is  at 
this  moment  that  the  true  character  of  the  miner  may  be 
tested ;  he  must  neither  fall  into  despondency  at  the  first  fail- 
ure, nor  be  allured  into  hasty  and  hazardous  undertakings 
at  the  first  appearance  of  success ;  he  must  not  be  cast  down 
because  the  path  which  he  was  following  has  suddenly  dis- 
appeared, but  he  must  endeavour  to  fall  in  again  with  it,  by 
prudently  directing  his  steps  in  the  neighbourhood;  if  the 
thread  which  guided  him  in  the  labyrinth  has  been  suddenly 
cut  off,  he  must  not  despair,  but  lighting  the  torch  of  science, 
he  must  endeavour  to  recover  it,  and  having  obtained  pos- 
session of  it,  he  may  be  enabled  to  renew  his  search  after 
the  concealed  treasure.  If  the  miner  who  is  too  easily  dis- 
couraged loses  the  chance  of  succeeding,  and  allows  fortune 
to  escape  him,  he  who  falls  into  the  other  extreme  is  still 
more  to  be  blamed ;  he  not  only  brings  ruin  upon  himself,  his 
family  and  his  friends,  but  he  destroys  the  reliance  which 
might  be  placed  in  his  character  and  abilities;  he  injures 
the  profession  of  which  he  is  a  member,  by  taking  away  from 
it  the  small  degree  of  certainty  which  it  possesses,  and 
making  it  appear  as  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  an  impostor. 
The  prudent  and  skilful  miner  will  therefore  endeavour  to 


14  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

steer  a  middle  course,  free  from  the  dangers  which  threaten 
him  on  both  sides ;  he  loses  no  time,  overlooks  no  indication 
which  may  assist  him,  considers,  examines,  studies  every  ap- 
pearance, reflects  maturely,  and  then  decides  whether  the 
deposit  be  worthy  of  his  attention  or  not ;  he  may  be  mista- 
ken in  his  decision,  but  he  has  acted  prudently  and  wisely, 
and  whatever  result  attends  his  future  undertakings,  he  al- 
ways feels  proud  at  the  consciousness  that  he  has  done  all 
that  he  could  do,  and  that  in  his  profession,  as  well  as  in  every 
other,  a  man  may  deserve  and  not  obtain  success. 

5.  The  fifth  branch  which  the  miner  has  to  study,  is  the 
manner  of  working  the  mine ;  properly  speaking,  «  Hoc  opus, 
hie  labor  est."  This  consists  in  the  knowledge  of  all  the  va- 
rious operations  which  are  performed  under  ground ;  these 
operations  cannot  be  well  described  on  paper;  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  a  person  who  has  not  visited  a  mine  to  form  a  cor- 
rect idea  of  its  nature,  or  to  imagine  the  subterraneous  world 
which  exists  there ;  without  having  witnessed  them,  it  is  not 
easy  to  conceive  the  nicety  which  is  required  in  some  of  the 
miner's  works,  the  certainty  with  which  he  directs  himself 
by  the  mere  assistance  of  his  compass ;  the  accuracy  with 
which  he  executes,  under  ground,  the  operations  which  he  has 
designed  on  his  draughts  and  map. 

The  works  which  the  miner  has  to  execute  are  the  sink- 
ing of  pits  and  shafts ;  the  opening  of  galleries,  levels,  and 
drifts ;  the  excavating  of  large  chambers  for  the  reception  of 
machines,  &c.  the  detaching  of  the  ore  from  the  rock,  &c. 

All  these  works  he  executes  either  by  the  assistance  of 
iron  and  steel  tools,  such  as  pickaxes,  hammers,  wedges,  &c. 
or  by  blasting  the  rock  with  gunpowder,  in  which  case,  he  uses 
the  drill,  rammer,  priming  rod,  &c.  or  finally  by  the  applica- 
tion of  fire ;  this  last  method,  which  is  practised  with  advan- 
tage in  many  instances  in  Germany,  Sweden,  and  Russia, 
and  which  can  be  applied  with  great  success  wherever  the 
rock  is  tough,  wood  cheap,  and  powder  expensive,  is  very 
interesting.  It  consists  in  erecting  large  piles  of  wood  near 
the  rock  intended  to  be  taken  down,  setting  the  wood  on  fire, 
and  directing  the  flame  and  smoke  in  the  manner  that  will 


THE    ART    OF    MINING.  15 

produce  the  greatest  effect  upon  the  rock,  which  is  expanded 
and  rent  in  all  directions,  by  numberless  fissures  ;  new  fuel 
is  added,  and  the  fire  kept  up  for  several  days,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  miner  returns  to  the  spot  of  the  conflagration,  and 
easily  detaches,  with  his  pickaxe,  the  rock,  which,  before  the 
application  of  the  fire,  was  very  tough  and  compact,  but  which 
afterwards  almost  crumbles  into  dust  of  itself. 

To  this  and  the  preceding  branch  we  must  refer  the  know- 
ledge, so  essential  to  the  miner,  of  following  the  traces  or 
indications  of  a  vein  which  has  partially  or  completely  dis- 
appeared. This  branch  includes  likewise  the  whole  disposi- 
tion of  the  works  under  ground.  It  therefore  requires,  on 
the  part  of  the  miner,  experience  and  study,  to  know  how7  to 
direct  and  dispose  the  works,  in  order  to  extract  the  ore  with 
the  greatest  economy.  It  is  a  branch  in  which  rules  can 
scarcely  be  laid  down.  Every  mine  requires  a  peculiar  dis- 
position, and  it  is  only  by  comparing  his  mine  with  those 
which  exist  in  other  places,  that  the  miner  can  arrive  at  a 
good  and  satisfactory  disposition  of  his  works.  To  this 
branch  we  must  likewise  refer  the  knowledge  of  the  best  me- 
thods used  to  judge  of  the  strength  and  quality  of  powder,  of 
the  resistance  which  it  can  overcome,  and  of  the  quantity  ne- 
cessary to  attain  a  certain  object ;  also,  of  the  proper  manner 
of  applying  it  in  mines. 

6.  We  have  said,  that  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  work 
the  miner  met  with  great  obstacles,  which  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  remove.  The  first  of  these  is  that  arising  from 
the  pressure  of  the  roof  and  sides  of  the  excavations  which 
he  has  made.  The  knowledge  of  the  methods  used  to  over- 
come this  difficulty,  constitutes  the  sixth  branch  of  the  art  of 
mining.  It  is  an  observation  of  every  day,  that  if  an  exca- 
vation be  made  in  the  soil,  and  left  to  itself,  it  will,  after 
some  time,  become  partly  closed  up  by  the  lateral  pressure ; 
and  if  it  were  intended  to  make  the  excavation  in  sand  or 
gravel,  it  would  require  great  care  to  prevent  the  sand  from 
falling  into  the  hole  as  soon  as  made.  Every  body,  however 
unacquainted  with  the  art  of  mining,  knows  that  when  a  well 
is  dug,  unless  it  be  opened  in  the  solid  rock,  it  is  indispensa- 


16  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

ble  to  build  up  a  solid  wall  of  stone  or  brick  round  the  well. 
It  is  true,  many  imagine  this  to  be  built  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  keep  in  the  water,  but  the  main  object  is  to  prevent 
the  sides  of  the  well  from  falling  in.  If  this  be  the  case  when 
a  well  of  thirty  or  forty,  or  at  most  one  hundred  feet,  is  dug, 
how  much  more  important  when  the  shaft  extends  to  a  depth 
of  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  hundred  feet,*  when  the  dimensions 
of  the  shaft  are  much  larger,  and  when  it  traverses  many 
different  beds,  some  of  tough  and  hard  rocks,  others  less  so- 
lid and  compact,  some  of  loose  and  disaggregated  materials, 
some  of  clay,  sand,  &c.  the  whole  very  much  impregnated 
with  water — it  is  evident  that  in  sucli  a  case  the  difficulties 
must  increase  in  a  tenfold  ratio.  Besides  these,  the  miner 
has  often  to  open  large  subterraneous  chambers,  the  roof  and 
sides  of  which  are  far  from  being  solid ;  these  chambers,  how- 
ever, require  to  be  constructed  with  a  great  degree  of  solidi- 
ty, as  they  are  intended  for  the  reception  of  large  and  ex- 
pensive machines,  such  as  steam-engines  and  water-wheels, 
in  which  case,  the  constant  agitation  of  the  air,  by  the  mo- 
tion and  fail  of  water,  tends  to  destroy  the  equilibrium  of  the 
rock,  at  the  same  time  that  the  spray  and  moisture  necessa- 
rily proceeding  from  such  machines,  act  as  a  corrosive  upon 
the  rock.  These  chambers  are  sometimes  intended  for  the 
accommodation  of  horses,  sometimes  for  mills  for  the  pound- 
ing of  ores,  &c. :  hence  it  is  evident,  that  the  greatest  care 
should  be  bestowed  upon  their  solidity.  The  miner  has  two 
ways  of  propping  the  sides  of  his  excavations.  The  first  is 
by  carpentry,  the  second  by  masonry.  The  proper  applica- 
tion of  these  two  methods  is  not  unattended  with  difficul- 
ties. It  is,  generally  speaking,  much  cheaper  to  use  tim- 
ber than  stone ;  but  the  works  of  stone,  if  well  made,  may  be 
considered  as  everlasting  in  mines,  while  those  of  wood  re- 

*  The  shaft  called  the  Richischact,  at  the  mine  of  Beschert  Gluck,  near 
Freyberg,  in  Saxony,  extended,  in  1820,  to  a  depth  of  1981  feet,  on  a  vein, 
the  inclination  of  which  is  about  forty-eight  degrees.  The  shaft  is  in  its 
upper  part  perpendicular  :  after  a  certain  depth,  it  follows  the  inclination  of 
the  vein.  This  vein  lias  been  very  productive  in  silver  ore,  and  is  known  by 
the  name  of  JVeu  hohe  JBirkner  Sfehende  Gam*. 


THE    ART   OF  MINING.  17 

quire  frequent  repair,  and  a  total  renewal  after  a  few  years. 
It  is  not  enough,  therefore,  to  consider  the  comparative  pri- 
ces of  each ;  hut  we  must  also  take  into  consideration  their 
respective  durability,  and  the  time  which  it  is  intended  that 
the  works  shall  last ;  for,  in  mines,  some  works  are  intended  to 
be  permanent,  while  others  are  merely  temporary  ;  some  are 
expected  to  remain  open  as  long  as  the  mine  shall  be  worked, 
while  others  are  only  worked  for  the  ore  which  they  contain, 
and  are  abandoned  as  soon  as  that  ore  is  exhausted.  In  the 
latter  works,  no  doubt  can  exist  as  to  the  advantage  in  using 
timber  in  preference  to  stone ;  for  not  only  it  is  much  cheap- 
er, but  in  many  cases  a  great  portion  of  the  timber  used  can 
be  removed  to  another  place,  and  the  materials  are  not 
therefore  lost.  But  in  the  permanent  works,  the  question 
is  more  difficult  to  decide.  In  Germany,  where  timber  is 
becoming  scarcer  every  day,  masonry  has  been  substituted 
with  advantage  in  many  mines  where  timber  was  formerly 
exclusively  used.  In  this  country,  it  is  probable  that  timber 
will,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  offer  a  great  economy  over 
stone  works.  Next  to  the  choice  of  materials,  the  miner 
must  attend  to  the  study  of  the  form  and  disposition  of  the 
carpenter  or  mason's  work.  These,  of  course,  depend  upon 
the  form  and  nature  of  the  excavation,  upon  the  object  for 
which  it  has  been  made,  upon  the  solidity  of  the  rock,  the 
quantity  of  water,  &c.  We  shall  not  enter  into  particulars, 
which  would  unnecessarily  lengthen  this  communication,  but 
merely  observe,  that  this  branch  of  the  miner's  art  includes 
a  knowledge  of  the  strength  and  resistance  of  timber,  of  the 
solidity  of  building  materials,  of  the  manner  of  making  ce- 
ments, of  the  construction  of  arches,  of  the  forms  best  adapt- 
ed to  each  particular  case,  and  of  the  calculations  of  the 
forces  necessary  to  break  them,  &c. 

7.  It  is  a  well-known  fact,  proved  by  daily  experience, 
that  if  a  well  be  dug,  it  will,  at  a  certain  depth,  which  varies 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  rock,  and  to  the  locality,  be- 
come partly  filled  with  water.  Nay,  it  has  been  observed, 
that  in  some  places,  the  water  will  spout  out  in  the  form  of  a 
jet  d'eau.  This  circumstance,  so  useful  in  common  life,  since 
3 


18  CONSIDERATIONS    UPOX 

it  allows  man  to  fix  his  habitation  far  from  running  water* 
is  the  source  of  much  trouble  and  of  great  difficulties  to  the 
miner;  for  as  soon  as  his  excavations  have  attained  a  certain 
depth,  the  water  runs  in  from  all  sides,  inundates  his  works, 
and  would  compel  him  to  abandon  them,  if  his  ingenuity 
could  not  devise  means  of  keeping  them  dry.  The  study  of 
the  means  used  to  accomplish  this  end,  constitutes  the  seventh 
division  of  his  acquirements.  Th®  object  which  he  has  in 
view  is  twofold  ; — either  to  prevent  the  water  from  entering 
into  his  excavations,  or  to  drain  it  off  when  it  has  penetrated 
into  them.  If  the  first  method  were  practicable  in  all  cases, 
it  would  undoubtedly  be  far  preferable ;  but  this,  unfortunate- 
ly, is  but  seldom  in  his  power;  the  means  used  to  prevent  the 
water  from  entering  the  excavations  being  the  damming  up 
of  the  side  from  which  it  comes,  and  opposing  a  strong  bar- 
rier in  that  quarter.  This  method  is,  however,  impossible 
when  the  waters  come  from  all  directions,  as  is  frequently 
the  case,  or  where  they  proceed  from  the  direction  which  the 
miner  intends  to  follow,  as  usually  happens  in  mines  worked 
upon  veins.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  miner  must  think 
of  removing  them.  He  has  two  ways  of  attaining  this  end. 
The  first  is  to  give  the  waters  an  outlet,  by  opening  a  drift, 
communicating  with  the  surface  at  some  distance.  The  water 
is  made  to  take  its  course  along  this  drift.  When  this  re- 
source fails,  from  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  depth  of  the 
mine,  or  some  other  reason,  the  only  means  left  is  to  have 
recourse  to  pumping  engines.  The  pumps  are  set  in  motion 
hy  animal,  water,  or  steam  power.  The  animal  power  is  in 
some  cases  that  of  man  ;  more  usually  it  consists  of  horses. 
As  the  pumping  of  the  water  is  always  attended  with  a  vast 
deal  of  expense,  this  operation  is  avoided  as  often  as  possi- 
ble. A  drift,  or  drain,  is  therefore  opened  whenever  the  local 
circumstances  admit  of  it.  Some  drifts  are  made  at  great 
depths,  and  extend  to  great  distances.*  It  is  generally  con- 

*  The  length  of  the  drift  in  the  district  of  Freyberg,  including  all  the 
branches  connecting  it  with  every  mine,  measured,  in  1819,  70,000  German 
Lachters,  or  upwards  of  90  English  miles.  What  an  immense  undertaking ! 
and  how  great  must  be  the  advantages  of  drifts,  in  order  to  compensate  for 
such  subterraneous  aqueducts ! 


THE    ART   OF  MINING.  19 

sidered,  that  the  money  laid  out  in  drifts  is  very  soon  repaid 
by  the  economy  of  the  pumps.  Drifts,  moreover,  offer  this 
advantage,  that  they  allow  the  miner  to  carry  his  works  to 
a  much  greater  depth. 

This  branch  of  the  miner's  studies  comprehends,  therefore, 
the  art  of  making  dams ;  that  of  excavating  the  rock,  as  in 
the  third  subdivision  of  this  section ;  the  knowledge  of  me- 
chanics, hydraulics,  and  hydrostatics;  the  science  of  ma- 
chines, and  of  their  proper  disposition  and  application. 

8.  Another  and  a  very  important  branch  of  the  miner's 
studies,  is  that  of  ventilating  the  mine,  so  as  to  procure  a 
constant  supply  of  pure  air.  This  object  is  particularly  enti- 
tled to  the  attention  of  the  miner,  since  not  only  the  security 
of  the  mine,  and  the  durability  of  the  materials,  depend  upon 
it,  but  even  the  preservation  of  the  lives  which  are  intrusted 
to  his  care,  and  for  which  he  must  consider  himself  respon- 
sible, should  any  accident  happen  through  his  carelessness  or 
neglect.  The  air  in  the  interior  of  mines  is  generally  pure, 
but  it  requires  a  constant  renewal ;  for  the  oxigen  which  it 
contains  is  continually  absorbed  by  respiration  and  combus- 
tion, and  converted  into  carbonic  acid  gas.  The  inflammation 
of  gunpowder  likewise  tends  to  diminish  the  quantity  of  oxi- 
gen in  the  air,  by  giving  rise  to  new  compounds,  which  do 
not  support  life  and  combustion.  If,  therefore,  a  regular  and 
perpetual  current  of  air  were  not  kept  up,  the  atmosphere  of 
the  mines  would  become  so  foul  as  to  cease  to  support  com- 
bustion, the  lights  would  be  extinguished,  and,  after  a  cer- 
tain time,  its  action  upon  animal  life  would  be  fatal.  In  some 
cases,  a  new  cause  operates,  in  like  manner,  to  corrupt  the 
atmosphere.  This  is  the  foul  air  produced  by  the  rock  itself. 
It  occurs  principally  in  coal  mines,  where  the  coal  constantly 
emits  a  quantity  of  gases,  which  not  only  cannot  support  ani- 
mal life,  but  even  in  many  instances  are  susceptible  of  being 
inflamed,  and  give  rise  to  explosions  which  have  often  proved 
fatal  to  many  of  the  workmen  employed  in  the  mines.  Some 
coal  mines,  particularly  in  England,  produce  so  much  of  this 
inflammable  gas,  that  it  had  been  found  impossible  to  keep 
lights  in  them,  until  the  late  discovery  of  the  safety  lamp,  to 


20  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

which  we  have  already  alluded,  and  which  has  hitherto  an- 
swered  in  every  case  in  which  it  was  properly  applied.  In 
the  invention  of  this  lamp,  Sir  Humphry  Davy  has  shown 
the  great  benefits  which  may  result  from  applying  theoretical 
knowledge  to  practical  use.  Having  found,  by  a  series  of 
interesting  experiments,  that  the  flame  of  a  candle  could  not 
pass  through  a  metallic  gauze  of  a  certain  fineness  of  tex- 
ture, he  conceived  the  idea  of  enclosing  the  miner's  lamp  in 
a  cylinder  of  iron  wire  gauze,  so  secured  as  to  prevent  any 
communication  of  the  flame  with  the  air  of  the  atmosphere, 
except  through  the  holes  in  the  gauze.  The  experiment  has 
been  crowned  with  the  most  complete  success ;  and  this  in- 
vention is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  valuable  to  humanity. 

The  miner  has  several  ways  of  ventilating  his  mines,  all 
of  which  are  attended  with  more  or  less  expense.  To  enable 
him  to  apply  these  methods  with  judgment,  propriety,  and 
economy,  is  therefore  the  object  of  the  eighth  branch  of  his 
studies.  It  includes,  likewise,  the  knowledge  of  the  best 
means  of  lighting  the  mines,  and  of  the  various  kinds  of 
lamps  and  torches  which  have  been  used. 

9.  The  ninth  division  of  the  miner's  acquirements  is  the 
carriage  of  the  ores  in  the  mine  from  the  spot  whence  they 
are  extracted  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  and  then  the  raising 
of  the  same  from  the  bottom  to  the  mouth  of  the  pit. 

The  first  part  of  this  task  requires  some  acquaintance  with 
the  nature  of  a  mine,  and  some  experience  on  this  subject ; 
for  the  carriages  under  ground  are  attended  with  greater 
difficulties,  and  a  much  greater  expense,  than  those,  at  the 
surface.  There  are  various  methods ;  one  of  the  least  known, 
and  which  is  very  seldom  used,  probably  not  so  often  as  it 
might  be  with  advantage,  is  that  of  internal  canals,  the  drifts 
being  used  for  that  purpose,  and  the  ore  being  conveyed  in 
small  boats.  A  very  pretty  application  of  this  method  exists 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Alston  Moor,  in  England,  where 
boats  of  upwards  of  five  feet  in  breadth  are  navigated  upon 
this  subterraneous  canal. 

As  to  the  raising  of  the  ores  to  the  month  of  the  pit,  it  is 
done  by  means  of  machines,  for  the  most  part  similar  to,  and 


THE    ART  OF  MINING.  SI 

often  connected  with,  those  used  for  pumping  out  the  water. 
To  the  division  which  treats  of  the  pumping  of  waters,  this 
part  may  therefore  be  referred. 

10.  The  tenth  branch,  which  the  miner  ought  to  study,  is 
that  of  dressing  the  ore.  By  dressing  the  ore,  we  understand 
the  operations  practised  to  cleanse  it  of  all  the  heterogeneous 
particles  with  which  it  is  mechanically  mixed.     These  ope- 
rations consist  in  picking,  pounding,  washing,  &c.     This 
matter  has  been  neglected  in  England  to  an  astonishing  de- 
gree.   In  France,  it  is  better  understood ;  but  it  is  chiefly  in 
Germany  that  it  is  to  be  studied.     Nowhere  has  the  art  of 
dressing  the  ores  been  brought  so  near  to  perfection.     It  is 
almost  impossible  to  conceive,  without  having  seen  it,  how 
far  the  Germans  excel  all  other  nations  in  this  important 
subject.     The  first  improvements  in  this  art  are  due  to  the 
Hungarians,  whose  ingenuity  was  brought  into  play  by  the 
desire  of  extracting  the  gold  which  exists  in  a  very  trifling 
quantity  in  the  sands  of  their  rivers,  and  also  disseminated 
in  the  earthy  gangue  of  their  veins.    The  first  improvements 
made  by  the  Hungarians  were  subsequently  introduced  into 
Saxony  and  the  Hartz,  where  the  poorest  silver  and  tin  ores 
are  worked,  with  a  degree  of  economy  almost  incredible. 
The  operations  in  dressing  the  ores  have  for  their  object  to 
separate  the  substances  which  are  mechanically  mixed  with 
them,  and  which  are  commonly  called  gangue,  or  often  very 
improperly,  matrix.   In  the  washing  of  the  ores,  many  differ- 
ent plans  have  been  pursued ;  but  of  these,  none  is  so  advan- 
tageous as  that  of  the  shaking  or  percussion  tables,  which 
are  set  in  motion  by  water-wheels,  and,  from  their  peculiar 
construction,  economize  about  four-fifths  of  the  hands  for- 
merly employed  for  the  purpose  of  washing  the  ores. 

11.  We  have  seen,  that  among  the  operations  of  the  art  of 
mining,  many  required  the  use  of  machines  which  it  is  often 
desirable  to  set  in  motion  by  a  water  power.     This  power 
is  not  always  at  hand :  it  must  be  procured  from  a  distance, 
which  is  accomplished  by  means  of  canals  and  aqueducts. 
In  some  of  the  more  considerable  mining  districts  of  Europe, 
these  aqueducts  are  made  of  a  great  length,  and  often  extend 


22  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

to  twenty  miles,  and  even  more.  To  be  enabled  to  construct 
these  aqueducts,  it  is  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  civil 
engineering,  and  it  certainly  would  be  very  desirable  that 
any  man  who  has  any  pretensions  to  be  reckoned  a  perfect 
miner,  should  not  be  a  stranger  to  these  operations.  Num- 
berless cases  will  occur,  in  the  working  of  a  mine,  in  which 
the  operations  of  the  mining  engineer  differ  but  little  from 
those  of  the  civil  engineer. 

12.  But  a  much  more  important  branch  of  the  miner's  pur- 
suits, one  to  which  all  the  others  are  directed,  and  by  which 
the  ore  is  most  effectually  improved,  is  that  of  METALLURGY. 

Metallurgy,  or  as  it  has  been  more  properly  termed  of  late, 
MINERALURGY,  is  that  portion  of  the  miner's  studies  which 
enables  him  by  the  action  of  heat,  assisted  by  other  agents, 
for  the  most  part  chemical,  to  counteract  the  affinities  which 
unite  the  various  components  existing  in  the  crude  products 
of  the  mines,  and  to  separate  from  them  the  substance  which 
was  the  object  of  mining,  in  order  to  reduce  it  to  such  a  state 
of  purity  as  will  render  it  fit  for  the  various  purposes  for 
which  it  was  intended ;  it  not  only  separates  the  bodies  che- 
mically combined,  but  also  those  which  are  mechanically 
united  in  quantities  too  minute,  or  by  a  mixture  too  intimate 
to  admit  of  a  separation  by  picking  and  washing,  &c.  It  is, 
therefore,  by  the  assistance  of  metallurgy  that  we  are  ena- 
bled to  separate  and  extract  silver,  lead,  and  copper,  from 
some  combinations  in  which  they  are  mixed  with  iron,  anti- 
mony, arsenic,  zinc,  sulphur,  lime,  magnesia,  and  other  sub- 
stances, whose  names  are  only  known  to  those  who  have 
made  a  study  of  chemistry. 

Metallurgical  operations  are  the  last  which  the  miner  has 
to  perform.  They  are,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  compli- 
cated, and  the  most  difficult.  It  is  not  enough  for  the  metal- 
lurgist to  separate  the  greater  part  of  the  metal,  but  he  must 
separate  the  whole,  if  possible ;  and  what  is  more,  he  must  do 
it  with  great  economy.  He  must  not  be  satisfied  with  the  re- 
sults which  he  has  obtained ;  he  must  constantly  endeavour 
to  improve  his  process.  Metallurgy  is  a  science  in  which 
much  remains  to  be  done.  It  is,  therefore,  incumbent  upon 


THR  ART   OF   MINING.  25 

the  metallurgist  to  be  ever  watchful,  and  to  endeavour  to  at- 
tain a  greater  degree  of  economy  and  precision.  This  he 
may  be  able  to  effect  by  studying  well  all  the  operations 
practised  at  this  time,  and  those  which  have  been  formerly 
practised,  but  have  since  been  abandoned.  He  must  endea- 
vour to  ascertain  why  they  have  been  given  up.  He  must 
inquire  into  the  rationale  of  all  his  operations ;  examine  and 
analyze  all  the  products  obtained.  By  these,  and  similar 
means,  he  may  hope  for  success. 

Among  the  most  important  branches  of  the  metallurgist's 
studies,  is,  undoubtedly,  that  of  the  construction  of  his  fur* 
naces.  It  is  one  on  which  too  much  care  cannot  be  bestow- 
ed. He  must,  likewise,  become  well  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture and  quality  of  the  various  kinds  of  fuel  used,  the  pro- 
cess of  converting  wood  and  coal  into  charcoal  and  coak,  &c. 

The  principal  operations  used  by  the  metallurgist  to  at- 
tain his  end,  are  the  roasting,  smelting,  amalgamating,  cu- 
pelling, and  refining,  of  the  ores.  If  mineralogy  be  the  cor- 
nerstone of  the  miner's  studies,  metallurgy  may  with  justice 
be  said  to  be  its  keystone.  It  is  metallurgy  which  completes, 
which  perfects  the  work. 

We  might  easily  have  lengthened  this  review  of  the  studies 
of  the  miner,  by  adding  a  number  of  branches,  and  making 
several  subdivisions,  which  we  have  avoided  in  order  to  re- 
duce it  to  as  small  a  compass  as  possible.  Nor  have  we  in- 
cluded in  the  studies  of  the  miner,  that  of  mining  jurispru- 
dence, although  it  is  considered  in  Germany  as  an  indispen- 
sable part  of  his  studies.  Every  officer  of  mines  employed 
in  the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  is  compelled  to  attend  two  years 
the  lectures  of  the  Law  Academy  at  Leipsick,  and  it  is  not 
until  he  has  undergone  examinations  upon  jurisprudence, 
that  he  is  received  as  officer  of  mines.  We  would  not  has- 
tily or  rashly  censure  regulations  which  have  been  found  to 
answer  during  centuries,  and  which  come  down  to  us  sanc- 
tioned by  experience  and  time ;  but  we  would  observe,  that 
although  this  study  may  be  very  necessary  in  Germany, 
where  the  laws  and  regulations  on  mining  are  numerous  and 


24  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

complicated,  it  does  not  appear  to  us  that  this  study  is  more 
necessary  to  the  American  miner,  than  to  the  possessor  of 
any  kind  of  property  whatsoever,  or  to  the  man  following 
any  other  profession.  A  general  acquaintance  with  the  laws 
of  his  country  is  what  every  man  ought  to  have ;  more  than 
this  we  do  not  helieve  to  be  necessary  to  the  miner. 

We  now  proceed  to  examine  upon  what  sciences  the  art 
of  the  miner  is  founded,  and  how  he  is  to  apply  them. 

From  what  has  heen  stated  in  the  preceding  pages,  we 
think  it  apparent  that  the  art  of  mining  is  founded  upon  four 
sciences  ,*  viz. 

Mineralogy, 
Natural  Philosophy, 
Mathematics,  and 
Chemistry. 

Mineralogy  is  indispensable  to  the  miner  in  order  to  re- 
cognise the  minerals  when  he  sees  them. 

Natural  Philosophy  is  necessary,  as  it  comprises  statics, 
mechanics,  hydraulics,  hydrostatics,  and  magnetism,  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  are  useful  to  the  miner  in  draining  the 
mines  of  the  water  they  contain — in  raising  the  ores  to  the 
surface — in  resisting  the  lateral  pressure  of  the  rock — in 
ventilating  the  mine — in  directing  his  course  under  ground 
by  means  of  the  compass — in  dressing  the  ores — in  making 
aqueducts — in  constructing  blasting  machines  for  his  fur- 
naces, &c. 

Mathematics  are  indispensable  to  calculate  the  force  of  his 
machines,  and  of  his  moving  powers ;  to  enable  him  to  make 
correct  surveys  of  his  subterraneous  works ;  to  assist  him  in 
judging  of  the  strength  of  his  constructions  both  above  and 
under  ground. 

Upon  correct  notions  of  mathematics  and  natural  philoso- 
phy depends  the  successful  application  of  his  machinery,  whe- 
ther it  consist  of  horse-engines,  or  steam-engines,  of  water- 
wheels,  or  pressing  machines,  &c.  If  ignorant  of  surveying, 
or  of  the  laws  which  govern  his  compass,  he  never  will  be 
able  to  make  the  different  parts  of  his  works  correspond  with 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  25 

each  other.  In  vain  will  he  waste  treasures  in  endeavours 
to  open  drifts.  He  will  always  be  foiled  in  his  attempts,  be- 
cause he  was  deficient  in  the  first  requisites. 

Chemistry  is  as  necessary  to  the  miner  as  any  other 
science.  Upon  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  it,  his  success 
in  a  great  measure  depends.  He  must  have  made  a  close 
study  of  this  science,  both  as  respects  the  nicer  operations  of 
analytical  chemistry,  and  the  great  principles  of  chemical 
statics,  in  order  to  be  able  to  explain  and  account  for  the 
mutual  and  relative  actions  of  the  various  substances  which 
he  wishes  to  treat  in  his  furnaces,  and  to  remedy  all  the  ac- 
cidents which  may  occur.  Docimasy  and  metallurgy,  two 
of  the  most  interesting  and  important  branches  of  the  mi- 
ner's studies,  depend  exclusively  upon  chemistry.  He  must, 
therefore,  be  master  of  this  science,  if  he  expects  to  succeed. 

If  it  be  remarked,  that  the  studies  which  we  have  present- 
ed as  indispensable  for  the  miner,  are  so  various  and  so  ex- 
tensive, so  general  and  so  difficult,  as  to  render  it  impossi- 
ble for  a  single  man  to  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  them  all,  we  answer,  that  we  have  intended  to  show 
what  acquirements  a  man  ought  to  possess  before  he  could 
call  himself  a  perfect  miner.  We  are  ready  to  acknowledge 
that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  man  to  be  equally  well 
skilled  in  all  these  branches.  It  is  usual  in  all  the  great 
mining  districts  of  Europe,  to  divide  the  task  between  seve- 
ral men.  The  isolated  mines  are  confided,  it  is  true,  to  the 
care  of  a  single  director,  who,  being  unable  to  attend  equal- 
ly well  to  the  whole,  directs  his  attention  more  exclusively 
to  those  studies  which  he  thinks  are  most  needed  in  the  esta- 
blishment at  the  head  of  which  he  finds  himself  placed.  But 
although  we  admit  that  a  man  may  neglect  or  lay  aside  those 
branches  of  the  miner's  pursuits  which  he  finds  less  impor- 
tant, (as  for  instance,  metallurgy,  if  he  be  at  the  head  of 
coal  mines,)  still,  we  think  that  he  ought  always  to  keep  up 
a  general  acquaintance  with  the  sciences  upon  which  they 
are  founded,  in  order  that  he  may  have  recourse  to  them 
whenever  he  finds  it  necessary. 
4 


26  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  have  learnt  these  sciences  in  the 
study  or  in  the  laboratory ;  he  must  not  think  that  mere  the- 
oretical knowledge  will  avail  him  much.  He  must,  on  the 
contrary,  endeavour  to  acquire  practical  information.  He 
must  visit  the  interior  of  the  mines — study  the  disposition  of 
rocks — examine  the  mariner  in  which  the  works  are  execut- 
ed— nay,  he  must  himself  become  an  operator — he  must  have 
handled  the  tools  himself,  or  he  never  can  expect  to  be  a  per- 
fect miner,  or  a  good  judge  of  the  work  executed  by  those 
under  him. 

There  is  no  art,  perhaps,  where  it  is  more  necessary,  and 
yet  more  difficult,  to  unite  practice  with  theory,  than  in  the  art 
of  mining.  The  man  who  is  a  mere  theorist,  can  never  form 
a  correct  opinion  of  what  a  mine  is,  or  how  it  ought  to  be  work- 
ed ;  he  will  never  know  what  remedy  to  apply  in  case  of  a 
failure.  Trusting  to  his  drawings  or  to  his  calculations,  every 
step  which  he  takes  may  be  in  direct  opposition  to  the  ac- 
knowledged laws  of  nature.  He  assumes  as  principles,  rules 
which  have  never  existed  but  in  his  own  imagination,  and 
upon  these  establishes  arguments,  and  draws  conclusions,  as 
false  as  the  premises  upon  which  they  are  founded. 

In  the  course  of  our  very  limited  experience,  it  has  been 
in  our  power  to  notice  several  instances  of  men,  who,  possess- 
ing very  deep  mathematical  information,  could  have  calcu- 
lated the  exact  resistance  of  a  beam  of  wood,  and  the  force 
necessary  to  break  it ;  but  if  brought  into  a  mine  and  re- 
quested to  give  an  advice  as  to  the  size  of  a  piece  of  timber, 
which  could  resist  the  lateral  pressure,  in  a  particular  case  then 
under  notice,  found  themselves  completely  at  a  loss  for  an 
answer,  and  acknowledged  that  all  their  theoretic  know- 
ledge could  not  assist  them  in  solving  a  question,  which  a 
mere  practical  workman  in  the  mine,  could,  from  analogy 
and  by  experience,  answer  without  hesitation. 

At  the  same  time,  however,  that  we  admit  that  theory 
alone  will  not  avail  a  miner  much,  we  should  be  sorry  to  see 
its  advantages  overlooked ;  the  mere  practical  miner  is  apt 
to  be  puzzled  at  the  least  difficulty ;  he  but  seldom  improves, 
generally  retrogrades,  or  follows  a  blind  routine. 


THE    ART   OF   MUTING.  27 

In  order  to  avoid  both  evils,  we  believe  it  necessary  to  be 
acquainted  with  both  theory  and  practice ;  to  trust  in  theory 
as  often  as  its  results  are  not  in  direct  opposition  with  those 
of  experience ;  to  take  advantage  of  the  reasonings  a  priori,  in 
every  instance  in  which  the  arguments  a  posteriori  have  not 
given  a  decided  and  incontrovertible  answer ;  in  a  word,  to 
rely  upon  theory  without  being  a  slave  to  it. 


SECTION  SECOND. 

Of  the  nature  of  Mining.  Of  the  class  of  property  to  'which 
Mines  belong,  and  of  the  importance  of  the  art  of  Mining 
compared  with  all  others. 

A  question  which  has  often  been  debated  among  the  au- 
thors who  have  written  on  mining,  is,  whether  it  ought  to 
be  considered  as  an  art  or  a  science ;  but  this  is  a  mere  scho- 
lastic puzzle,  which  has  been  applied  equally  to  all  branches 
of  human  knowledge ;  the  miner's  profession  has  its  theory 
as  well  as  its  practice ;  the  former  entitles  it  to  be  ranked 
with  the  sciences,  while  the  latter  constitutes  it  an  art ;  it 
therefore  partakes  of  both ;  it  requires  an  acquaintance  with 
several  sciences  and  several  arts ;  hence,  it  is,  with  propriety, 
neither  exclusively  a  science  nor  an  art ;  but  it  is  a  sort  of 
middle  ground,  upon  which  both  may  be  said  to  meet. 

Another  question,  and  one  of  much  greater  importance  to  the 
miner,  is  to  ascertain  in  what  class  of  property  mines  should  be 
ranked,  and  if  they  are  to  be  considered  in  every  respect  as 
real  property ;  there  are  probably  some  points  of  difference 
between  mines  and  other  kinds  of  property ;  but  the  exami- 
nation of  this  question  appertains  more  properly  to  the  law- 
yer than  to  the  miner ;  we  will  therefore  not  enter  into  a 
discussion  which  is  beyond  our  reach,  but  we  wished  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  lawyer  to  this  subject,  which,  we  believe, 
has  not  been  very  closely  examined. 


28  CONSIDERATIONS    UPOIt 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  motives  which  induced  le- 
gislators to  separate  this  class  of  property  from  all  others, 
certain  it  is,  that  in  most  countries,  the  mines  have  been 
made  the  subject  of  peculiar  legislation  ;  we  believe  that  it  is 
principally  to  their  importance  to  society  in  general,  that  we 
must  attribute  this  distinction ;  as  the  metals,  the  salts,  and 
fuel  which  are  extracted  from  mines,  are  admitted  by  all  to 
be  indispensable  for  the  comfort,  we  might  say,  for  the  exist- 
ence of  man,  and  as  they  are  not  to  be  found  indifferently 
upon  the  whole  surface  of  a  country,  but  are  restricted  to 
particular  spots  and  particular  localities,  it  was  thought  ne- 
cessary for  the  general  interest  of  society,  to  take  away  from 
the  owners  of  these  spots,  the  right  of  property  to  those 
sources  of  wealth  $  for,  if  this  right  of  property  were  vested 
in  the  owner  of  the  land,  it  would  be  optional  with  him 
to  work  his  mines,  or  to  neglect  them ;  it  would  therefore  be 
in  his  power  to  give  to,  or  withhold  from  society  the  com- 
forts and  means  of  subsistence,  which  depend  upon  the  pro- 
ducts of  mines  ;  these  products  being  considered  as  a  source 
of  national  wealth,  were  supposed  to  be  national  property, 
which  ought  to  be  disposed  of  in  the  manner  best  calculated 
to  secure  the  interests  of  the  nation  at  large ;  it  was  argued 
in  defence  of  this  doctrine,  that  a  river  is  not  the  property  of 
the  man  upon  whose  estate  it  passes  ;  that  he  enjoys,  it  is 
true,  all  the  advantages,  and  is  liable  to  all  the  inconveni- 
ence, which  result  from  its  neighbourhood,  without  being  the 
proprietor  of  its  waters;  that  he  can  only  take  advantage 
of  them,  as  long  as  the  use  he  makes  of  them  does  not 
interfere  with  the  general  interests  of  society.  When  the  in- 
justice of  taking  away  from  an  individual  his  property,  was 
urged  as  a  motive  against  this  mode  of  reasoning,  it  was  an- 
swered, that  the  depriving  an  individual  of  a  property,  upon 
which  he  had  not  depended,  could  not  be  considered  as  an 
injustice  done  to  him ;  that  he  knew  not  of  the  existence  of 
a  mine  under  ground  when  he  purchased  the  spot,  and  there- 
fore, that  his  schemes  of  profit  were  not  founded  upon  it; 
that,  when  a  law  was  passed  to  take  away  from  the  owner  of 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  29 

the  soil,  the  right  of  property  to  the  undiscovered  mines 
which  lay  concealed  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  he  could  at 
most  be  said  to  be  deceived  in  the  hopes  which  he  might 
have  entertained;  that  this  measure,  however,  affected  only 
the  original  proprietor,  for  every  subsequent  purchaser 
would  be  aware  of  the  conditional  tenure  by  which  he  held 
the  land ;  and  that,  although  the  case  of  the  first  owner  was 
hard,  it  could  only  be  considered  as  one  of  the  many  in  which 
individual  interests  must  be  postponed  to  the  general  wel- 
fare. Another  powerful  motive  for  separating  mines  from  other 
kind  of  property,  and  taking  them  away  from  the  owners  of 
the  soil,  was  the  great  difference  which  exists  between  mines 
and  lands  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  which  consists  in  this, 
that  the  former  can  be  exhausted,  or  rendered  useless  to  so- 
ciety by  mismanagement  in  the  origin,*  while  the  latter  pos- 
sess a  perpetual  power  of  reproduction ;  that,  if  the  pow- 
ers of  the  soil  be  exhausted  by  some  cause  or  other,  they  can 
be  restored  and  reproduced  in  a  lapse  of  time  never  very 
considerable  ;  this  is  an  argument,  which,  if  fairly  examined 
and  duly  weighed,  will  go  very  far;  for  if  mines  be  produc- 
tive of  great  advantage  to  the  community,  it  is  essential  for  the 
general  benefit  of  this  community  that  they  be  worked,  and 
their  products  brought  into  circulation  ;  but  further,  it  is  also 
necessary  that  they  be  worked  with  the  greatest  advantage 
and  skill,  in  order  that  society  at  large  may  derive  the  great- 
est possible  advantage,  from  a  treasure  placed  by  Provi- 

*  We  have  said  that  a  mine  can  be  destroyed,  or  rendered  useless,  by 
mismanagement  in  the  origin.  We  might  cite  many  instances  ;  a  single  one 
will  suffice.  If  a  coal  mine  be  improperly  worked  in  the  origin,  large  masses 
left  unexplored,  a  free  access  of  atmospheric  air  allowed  to  this  coal,  it  will 
be  very  apt  to  inflame  spontaneously,  by  the  decomposition  of  the  iron  py- 
rites, which  accompanies  it  in  most  cases ;  the  mine  once  on  fire,  there  is  no 
saying  where  or  when  the  conflagration  will  stop ;  some  of  these  subterra- 
neous fires  have  been  lasting  two  or  three  centuries;  not  only  the  coal  is 
lost  to  mankind,  but  the  surface  of  the  soil  has  considerably  suffered  from 
the  smoke  and  gases  issuing,  which  have  produced  pressures  in  the  soil,  &c. 
and  have  destroyed  the  vegetation  over  extensive  tracts.  The  great  chasms 
formed  under  ground  by  the  combustion  of  the  coal,  have  caused  the  sink- 
ing in  of  the  surface,  and  many  other  accidents. 


30  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

deuce  upon  the  property  of  an  individual,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  community  at  large. 

Hence  the  great  principle,  upon  which  all  the  writers  upon 
the  law  of  mining  seem  to  have  agreed,  that  when  a  mine 
belongs  to  an  individual,  it  is  a  property  which  he  may  use, 
but  not  abuse ;  while  all  other  properties  which  he  possesses 
he  holds  in  most  cases  with  the  privilege  of  using  and  abusing 
at  pleasure. 

It  has  been  further  urged,  in  favour  of  taking  away  from 
an  individual  the  right  of  property  to  the  mines  under  his 
ground,  that  the  division  of  property  is  always  made  with 
reference  to  the  convenience  of  the  owners  of  the  soil,  and 
that  the  mines  which  exist  under  its  surface  have  little  or  no 
connexion  with  the  surface  itself,  so  that  a  division  of  pro- 
perty, made  to  suit  the  surface,  may  be  such  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  a  mine  under  ground  being  worked  by  the 
owners  of  the  soil  separately ;  whereas,  if  the  privilege  of 
the  mines  did  not  follow  the  property  of  the  surface,  but  were 
vested  in  a  single  individual,  this  individual  might  work  them 
with  profit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  community.  It 
is  from  such  motives  as  these,  that  the  advocates  of  restric- 
tive laws  upon  mines  endeavour  to  establish  the  expediency 
and  justice  of  the  right  of  Royalty.  This  regal  right  varies 
in  every  country.  In  some,  the  sovereign  is  merely  entitled 
to  a  certain  proportion  in  the  profits,  or  to  a  share  in  the 
products.  In  other  countries,  the  sovereign,  besides  his  share 
in  the  products,  has  the  exclusive  right  of  disposing  of  the 
mines,  and  of  conferring  them  upon  those  whom  he  thinks 
best  calculated  to  secure  the  interests  of  the  state.  In  some 
parts  of  Germany,  the  sovereign  has  moreover  the  sole  right 
of  directing  the  manner  in  which  the  mines  belonging  to  in- 
dividuals shall  be  worked.  Hence  the  creation  of  a  regular 
body  of  officers,  instructed  in  the  art  of  mining,  and  to  whom 
is  assigned  the  care  of  superintending  and  directing  all  the 
mines  of  the  country,  whether  they  belong  to  the  sovereign 
or  to  individuals.  The  creation  of  such  a  body  of  officers 
was  followed  by  that  of  public  schools  and  academies,  where 
the  art  of  mining  is  taught  in  all  its  various  branches.  To 


THE  ART  OF  MINING.  SI 

these  institutions,  no  doubt,  the  art  is  much  indebted  for 
many  of  the  improvements  which  have  been  introduced  dur- 
ing the  last  century.  But  such  a  system  is  liable  to  great 
objections.  It  seems  to  us,  that  the  establishment  of  officers 
for  the  special  purpose  of  directing  an  individual  how  he  is 
to  employ  his  property,  what  expenses  he  must  make,  and 
what  profits  he  may  be  allowed  to  derive  from  them,  is  an 
encroachment  upon  private  rights,  to  which  nothing  but  the 
most  manifest  expediency  could  induce  us  to  accede ;  and  we 
believe  this  expediency  has  not  been  clearly  demonstrated. 
We  admit  that  there  are  many  instances,  in  which  the  inter- 
ests of  society  at  large,  the  security  of  the  mines,  and  that  of 
the  lives  of  the  men  employed  in  them,  would  seem  to  justify, 
and  even  to  require,  an  interference  on  the  part  of  the  legis- 
lators. Whenever  such  an  interference  can  be  proved  to  be 
necessary,  we  shall  always  be  disposed  to  advocate  it,  even 
though  it  affect  individual  rights ;  for  in  societies,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  convenience  of  the  few  must  yield  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  many.  It  is  a  rule  so  well  established,  that  we 
shall  not  dwell  a  moment  in  bringing  forward  examples,  and 
merely  state,  that  whenever  a  road  or  canal  is  found  benefi- 
cial to  the  country  at  large,  no  individual  can  object  to  its 
passing  over  his  property,  although  it  may  occasion  him 
serious  inconvenience.  There  are  numberless  other  instances 
which  tend  to  prove,  that  the  great  basis  of  social  life  being 
that  of  mutual  sacrifices  for  the  public  weal,  society  at  large 
is  perfectly  justifiable  in  compelling  an  individual  to  abandon 
rights  which  are  injurious  to  it. 

Our  object,  at  present,  is  not  to  decide  wbat  course  should 
be  followed  in  the  United  States,  and  what  laws  ought  to  be 
made  regulating  the  rights  of  miners ;  and  we  even  abstain 
from  expressing  any  decided  opinion  as  to  the  expediency  of 
making  any  law  whatsoever  on  the  subject,  our  only  purpose 
being  to  endeavour  to  call  the  attention  of  some  able  writer 
to  this  subject.  We  would  wish  that  that  writer  could  be 
found  in  that  class  of  professional  men,  who,  from  the  nature 
of  their  avocations,  have  made  a  particular  study  of  jurispru- 
dence and  of  the  rights  of  property,  and  who,  from  their 


32  CONSIDERATIONS  UPON 

general  character,  would,  we  are  certain,  take  an  enlightened 
view  of  the  suhject,  and  lend  their  influence  to  support  any 
measure,  the  object  of  which  would  he  to  open  a  new  source 
of  national  wealth,  and  to  make  our  country  independent  of 
all  others  as  respects  the  products  of  mines,  even  though  such 
a  measure  might  in  some  respects  curtail  the  rights  of  the 
owners  of  the  soil.  \Ve  will  merely  state  a  few  of  the  many 
instances  which  have  been  brought  forward  on  this  question, 
in  order  to  show  how,  in  some  cases,  legislative  authority 
might  be  exercised  with  advantage.  We  merely  assume, 
beforehand,  what  we  believe  to  be  correct,  that  there  is  no 
law  of  the  United  States,  arid  none  of  the  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania,* which  can  be  said  to  apply  particularly  to  mines. 

It  has  often  been  thought,  that  the  privilege  granted  to 
sovereigns  had  been  in  many  cases  most  shamefully  abused, 
as,  for  instance,  in  England,  where  the  right  of  royalty  over 
immense  territories  was  lavished  by  the  crown  upon  indivi- 
duals who  had  no  claim  to  it  except  through  the  favour  of 
the  monarch.  It  was  to  reward  a  chieftain  who  had  been 
useful  to  him  in  wars,  that  the  king  would  confer  upon  him 
the  royalty  of  all  the  mines  found  in  one  or  more  counties, 
to  the  great  and  manifest  injury  of  the  industrious  and  useful 
part  of  the  community.  This  right  was  afterwards  sold  and 
divided  by  these  military  lords  and  their  descendants,  so  that 
they  have  now  fallen  into  the  hands  of  individuals  who  own 
them  often  without  having  any  right  to  the  soil  under  which 
they  may  be  found.  This  privilege,  originally  assumed  by 
the  sovereign  for  the  interest  of  the  community,  has  therefore 
in  this  case  proved  of  no  use  whatever  to  the  state ;  it  has 
never  benefited  either  the  public  or  the  king;  but  it  has 

*  The  reservation  of  one-fifth  of  the  gold  and  silver  ores  for  the  use  of  the 
state,  cannot  be  considered  as  a  law  on  mining,  but  merely  as  a  restriction 
in  the  sale  of  the  property.  We  may  be  allowed  to  observe,  that  this  reser- 
vation is  very  immoderate;  and  must  either  prevent  these  ores  from  being 
worked,  or  give  rise  to  great  abuse.  We  believe  that  so  great  a  reservation 
has  been  but  seldom  required,  and  we  know  of  no  instance  where  a  greater 
one  has  been  called  for.  The  word  ore  is  very  loose,  and  will,  we  fear,  give  rise 
to  great  difficulties,  if  this  law  should  ever  come  into  operation,  which  we 
trust  will  not  be  necessary, 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  33 

introduced  a  division  of  rights,  which  gives  rise  to  great  diffi- 
culties among  landholders. 

In  order  to  show  how  irregularly  this  right  is  now  divid- 
ed, we  may  mention  the  instance  of  one  of  the  richest  com- 
moners in  England,  who  holds  immense  estates  in  the  north- 
ern counties,  and  whose  lead  mines  are  among  the  most  im- 
portant in  England.  These  lead  mines  are  worked  hy  him — 
1st.  On  property  belonging  to  him,  and  of  which  he  has  the 
right  of  royalty ; — 2d.  On  property  belonging  to  other  in- 
dividuals, but  of  which  the  right  of  royalty  resides  in  him ; — 
3d.  On  property  belonging  to  him,  but  of  which  the  royal- 
ty resides  in  other  individuals,  from  whom  he  rents  it ; — 
4th.  And,  finally,  upon  lands,  the  royalty  of  which  belongs 
to  the  Dean  and  chapter  of  Durham,  while  the  exclusive  right 
of  the  surface  belongs  to  a  third  party. 

Hence,  it  is  evident,  that  the  royalty  in  England  has  been 
but  an  additional  right  of  patronage  vested  in  the  crown,  and 
which  has  been  used  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  gratify 
the  wishes  of  the  favourites  of  the  monarch.  We  may  here 
observe,  that  the  rights  of  royalty  over  every  section  of  the 
country,  have  passed  in  this  manner  from  the  crown  to  in- 
dividuals ;  the  present  king  possessing  the  royalties  of  no 
mines  except  those  vested  in  his  person  by  virtue  of  his  right 
of  Prince  of  Wales  and  Duke  of  Cornwall. 

Having  shown  the  origin  of  the  right  of  royalty,  together 
with  some  of  the  arguments  for  and  against  its  expediency, 
we  shall  proceed  to  examine  a  few  of  the  many  cases,  in 
which  an  interference,  on  the  part  of  legislative  authority, 
seems  to  be  justifiable.  Our  first  example  shall  be  taken  from 
a  case  which  was  peculiarly  applicable  a  few  years  ago,  and 
would  have  continued  so  to  be,  if  the  hopes  which  had  been 
formed  of  the  existence  of  a  valuable  mine  had  not  been  dis- 
appointed. 

Tin  is  a  rare  metal,  but  a  very  useful  one.  The  only  mines 
of  it  worked  in  Europe,  are  those  of  Cornwall,  which  are 
very  rich  and  abundant ;  and  those  of  Germany,  which  are 
comparatively  inconsiderable.  But  the  greater  part  of  the 
tin  used  in  the  arts,  and  the  best  quality,  comes  from  Ban- 
5 


34  CONSIDERATIONS    UPO3T 

ca  and  Malacca,  and  other  mines  in  Asia ;  it  all  reaches  Eu- 
rope by  the  way  of  England.  France  possesses  no  tin  mines. 
This  metal  is  very  useful  in  many  of  the  arts,  and  particu- 
larly in  time  of  war,  as  it  enters  largely  into  the  composi- 
tion of  gun-metal.  In  case  of  a  war  with  England,  France 
has  no  means  of  procuring  tin,  except  at  a  great  expense, 
from  Germany;  hut,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  Germany  and 
England,  (as  was  lately  the  case,)  France  has  no  means  of 
receiving  any  tin.  Suppose  a  tin  mine  were  discovered  in 
France,  and  the  individual  on  whose  property  it  lay,  from 
some  motive  or  other,  refused  to  work  it  himself,  or  to  allow 
any  other  person  to  take  advantage  of  it,  would  not  the  com- 
munity at  large  be  injured  by  this  individual's  refusing  or 
neglecting  to  work  his  mine  ?  might  it  not,  in  this  case,  be 
desirable  that  the  power  of  disposing  of  the  mine  should  rest 
in  the  hands  of  persons  more  apt  to  be  actuated  by  the  pub- 
lic welfare,  than  the  isolated  individual,  whose  patriotism  is 
often  stifled  by  private  interest  ? 

Again,  there  are,  we  believe,  cases  of  a  stronger  nature  in 
favour  of  some  laws  which  would  tend  to  facilitate  the  work- 
ing of  mines.  Suppose  a  landholder  find  a  mine  on  his  pro- 
perty, and  that  he  be  disposed  to  work  it ;  let  it  be,  for  in- 
stance, the  same  tin  mine  which  we  have  just  spoken  of,  and 
the  importance  of  which  to  the  community  we  have  just  es- 
tablished; but  let  us  suppose,  at  the  same  time,  that  this  mine 
could  not  be  worked  with  advantage,  unless  a  drift  leading 
to  a  distant  valley  were  opened,  two  or  three  hundred  feet 
under  ground,  in  order  to  drain  the  water.  Suppose  this 
drift  have  to  pass  under  property  belonging  to  other  individu- 
als, who,  from  some  motive  or  other,  would  refuse  to  grant 
to  the  holder  of  the  mine  the  privilege  of  opening  his  drift, 
unless  he  paid  them  an  extravagant  compensation,  or  per- 
haps will  not  agree  to  any  terms.  The  motives  of  these  in- 
dividuals we  do  not  examine;  they  may  be  actuated  by 
groundless  fears;  perhaps  by  pique  or  jealousy  at  their 
neighbour's  success ;  perhaps  by  disaffection  to  the  country 
in  which  they  live,  if  the  mine  be  of  sufficient  importance  to 
affect  its  political  situation.  Is  it  not  evident,  that  in  such  a 


THE    ART    OF   MINING.  35 

case,  society  at  large  may  be  seriously  injured,  the  holder 
of  the  mine  may  find  himself  ruined,  and  foiled  in  his  at- 
tempt to  carry  on  works  of  public  utility  as  well  as  private 
advantage,  by  the  mere  selfishness  or  obstinacy  of  an  indi- 
vidual, who  derives  no  benefit  whatsoever  from  this  line  of 
conduct,  and  whose  property  can  by  no  means  be  injured  by 
a  drift  passing  several  hundred  feet  under  ground  ?  Certain- 
ly no  reasonable  man  could  object  to  a  law's  being  made 
which  might  benefit  the  miner  in  this  instance,  provided  it 
were  so  restricted  as  not  to  prove  oppressive  in  other  cases. 

A  third  instance  in  which  the  interest  of  the  public  may 
be  at  variance  with  that  of  an  individual,  and  with  our  actual 
legislation,  is,  where  a  mine  could  be  worked  with  advan- 
tage to  the  public  and  to  the  proprietor,  if  he  were  allowed 
to  bring  a  stream  of  water  to  his  works,  in  order  to  set  his 
wheels  in  motion;  but  that  this  water  could  only  be  procured 
by  means  of  an  aqueduct  passing  over  the  property  of  his 
neighbours.  In  the  case  of  a  canal,  the  objections  of  the 
owners  would  be  overruled;  why  should  they  not  likewise  be 
disregarded  in  a  case  which  affects  society  perhaps  to  as  ex- 
tensive a  degree  ?  What  objections  could  be  made  to  a  law 
securing  to  a  miner  the  right  of  making  such  roads  and 
aqueducts  as  are  indispensable  for  his  works,  requiring,  of 
course,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  should  pay  his  neighbours 
a  full  compensation  for  the  injury  done  to  their  property,  the 
amount  to  be  ascertained  as  it  now  is  in  the  analogous  case 
of  canals,  &c.  ? 

But  there  is  another  point  to  which  we  would  call  the 
attention  of  the  humane  legislator.  It  is  one  which  we  con- 
sider as  of  much  greater  importance,  inasmuch  as  instead 
of  the  property,  it  is  the  life  of  many  valuable  members 
of  the  community  which  it  concerns.  Suppose  a  man,  care- 
less of  the  high  moral  responsibility  which  is  attached  to 
his  situation  as  director  of  works  of  this  nature,  exposes  the 
lives  of  the  labourers  whom  he  employs  in  dangerous  works, 
which  his  ignorance  or  neglect  has  made  him  overlook,  and 
which  prudence  and  foresight  on  his  part  might  have  point- 
ed out  to  him.  Suppose  an  accident  happen  which  he  might 


36  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

have  prevented  by  a  little  attention,  is  such  a  director  ame- 
nable before  any  tribunal?  is  there  any  law  by  which  his 
presumption  or  his  indifference  can  be  punished?  Will  it  bo 
argued,  that  there  was  no  compulsion  on  his  part,  and  that 
the  workman  who  perished  was  a  victim  of  his  own  impru- 
dence? will  it  be  considered  as  a  risk  voluntarily  encounter- 
ed by  the  uninstructed  labourer?  and  will  society  be  satisfied 
with  a  verdict  of  "  accidental  death  ?"  \Ve  fancy  not ;  we 
hope  not ;  we  trust  some  measure  would  be  found  to  teach 
this  careless  director,  that  besides  being  responsible  to  his 
Maker,  he  is  answerable  to  his  fellow-citizens,  and  to  the 
laws  of  his  country,  for  a  waste  of  human  life  which  he  might 
have  prevented. 

Our  object  has  been  to  show  that  there  is  good  cause  to 
inquire  whether  any  law  should  be  made,  restricting  or  re- 
gulating the  privileges  of  miners  and  landholders  concern- 
ed or  connected  with  mines.  And  if  it  is  likely  that  such  an 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  legislature  shall  become  ne- 
cessary, we  think  it  would  be  of  great  advantage  that  the 
laws  should  have  been  made  before  the  case  shall  arise  to 
which  they  may  apply.  In  this  manner,  we  would  avoid 
every  thing  like  an  ex  post  facto  law.  Should  we  neglect  to 
make  the  law  at  present,  when  the  art  of  mining  has  scarce- 
ly taken  a  footing  in  the  United  States,  we  may  be  called 
upon  to  make  it  at  a  time  when  it  would  be  applicable  to  in- 
dividual cases,  and  where  its  justice  might  be  questioned. 
And  let  it  not  be  said  that  we  cannot  make  the  law  until  the 
case  to  which  it  may  apply  shall  have  arisen  and  proved  its 
necessity ;  for,  in  this  respect,  we  may  question  the  experi- 
ence of  Europe;  we  may  see  what  cases  have  called  for 
interference  during  the  last  five  or  six  centuries,  and  be 
prepared  to  meet  them  when  they  shall  occur  in  our  own 
country.  Another  motive,  which  ought,  we  think,  to  induce 
the  legislator  to  turn  his  attention  to  this  subject  is,  that  by 
so  doing  we  will  prevent  the  introduction  of  local  usages  and 
customs,  which  are  at  first  introduced  merely  for  conve- 
nience's sake,  but  which,  after  a  while,  assume  the  force  of 
law,  and  tend  to  substitute,  in  the  place  of  a  wise,  well  digest- 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  37 

ed,  and  universally  applicable  code  of  laws,  a  set  of  incohe- 
rent usages,  often  arbitrary  and  unjust,  partial  in  their  ap- 
plication, and  not  unfrequently,  very  contradictory;  the  his- 
tory of  the  origin  of  laws  in  all  countries,  and  especially  of 
that  upon -mines  in  England,  justifies  us  in  our  fears,  that 
such  would  be  the  case  in  our  own  country,  if  the  subject 
were  totally  neglected.* 

Those  who  are  opposed  to  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
legislature,  generally  answer  that  it  is  useless,  because  in- 
dividuals will  always  find  it  their  interest  to  agree  among 
themselves,  and  to  work  their  mines,  and  to  facilitate  the 
working  of  those  belonging  to  their  neighbours ;  but  we  be- 
lieve there  are  many  cases,  in  which  an  individual  may  find 
it  his  private  interest  to  oppose  the  general  interests  of  so- 
ciety, and  where  he  will  do  it  if  he  can ;  we  shall  only  bring 
one  instance  in  support  of  our  opinion,  and  we  shall  take  it 
from  the  extensive  and  celebrated  coal  mines  of  Newcastle 
on  Tyne;  it  is  a  well  known  fact,  admitted  by  all  those  who 
have  visited  these  mines,  that  some  of  them  are  very  benefi- 
cial to  the  proprietors;  others  barely  pay  at  the  present 
price  ;  while  a  third  class  cannot  be  worked  without  loss,  un- 
der existing  circumstances ;  if  the  causes  of  this  disparity  in 
the  profits  be  inquired  into,  they  will  not,  nine  times  out  of 
ten,  be  found  to  exist  in  the  nature  or  abundance  of  the  coal, 
nor  in  the  nature  of  the  adjoining  rock,  nor  in  the  quantity 
of  water  in  the  works,  but  chiefly  in  the  local  situation  of 
the  mine.  Some  of  them  are  situated  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Tyne,  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  coal  brought  out  of  the  pit 
is  immediately  emptied  into  the  boats  or  ships  in  the  river ; 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  we  have  found  a  passage  in  Mr.  Schoolcraft's 
work  on  the  mines  of  Missouri,  which  proves  that  the  evil  which  we  appre- 
hended is  almost  inseparable  from  mines,  in  a  country  where  they  are  not  re- 
gulated by  law ;  and  that  it  has  already  unfortunately  taken  root  in  this 
country.  The  passage  to  which  we  allude  runs  thus:  "  Custom  has  establish- 
ed a  number  of  laws  among  the  miners,  with  regard  to  digging,  which  have 
a  tendency  to  prevent  disputes.  Whenever  a  discovery  is  made,  the  person 
making  it  is  entitled  to  claim  the  ground  for  twenty-five  feet  in  every  direc- 
tion from  his  pit,  giving  him  fifty  feet  square,  &c."  (Schoolcraft's  View  of  the 
Lead  Mines  of  Missouri.— New  York,  1819.  Page  107.) 


38  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

others  are  at  a  small  distance,  others  again  at  a  considera- 
ble distance  from  the  river ;  but  all  could  be  worked  with  ad- 
vantage, if  the  owners  of  the  more  distant  mines  were  allowed 
to  convey  their  coal  to  the  river  by  the  nearest  route ;  but  this 
they  are  prevented  from  doing,  the  owners  of  the  intervening 
property  refusing  them  the  passage,  or  requiring  from  them 
such  an  extravagant  toll,  as  often  amounts  to  a  prohibition. 
We  have  seen  instances,  in  which  the  owner  of  the  coal  was 
obliged  to  make  a  circuitous  road  of  eight  or  ten  miles, 
where  the  real  distance,  by  tbe  shortest  direction,  did  not  ex- 
ceed two  or  three  miles.  When  we  consider  that  tliese  roads 
are  all  made  roads,  and  inclined  planes,  it  is  impossible  not 
to  be  struck  with  the  great  disadvantage  under  which  mines 
at  a  distance  from  the  river  labour.  The  expense  of  making 
railways  for  such  a  distance,  and  the  inconvenience  of  convey- 
ing so  bulky  an  article  as  coal,  and  of  so  small  a  value  com- 
pared to  its  bulk,  deprive  many  owners  of  the  reasonable 
profit  which  they  ought  to  make,  and  prevent  many  others 
from  working  their  mines.  The  effect  is  obvious ;  the  great 
competition  is  destroyed ;  the  public  buys  coal  at  an  advanced 
price ;  and  the  owners  of  KILLINGWORTH  and  WAULSEND 
alone  are  benefited  by  it. 

In  making  laws  on  mines,  we  must  bear  in  mind,  that  they 
differ  much  from  agricultural  property,  in  this  especially, 
that  they  are  of  a  perishable  nature ;  that  the  mine  which 
flourished  during  the  last  century,  and  offered  great  expec- 
tations to  the  miner,  has  been  exhausted  ;  that  it  exists  at  pre- 
sent only  in  the  remembrance  of  the  great  profits  which  it 
afforded,  and  in  the  immense  chasms  which  it  has  left  behind. 

As  respects  the  interests  of  the  miner,  we  may  say,  that 
they  are  closely  connected  with  those  of  the  manufacturer, 
in  the  same  way  that  there  is  an  analogy  between  mines  and 
manufactures ;  because  they  both  have  alike  a  tendency  to 
convert  the  imperfect  and  native  material  into  a  new  sub- 
stance, better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  man ;  they  change  its 
form  and  its  texture,  its  external  and  internal  characters, 
and  by  a  variety  of  manipulations,  they  produce  a  new  body ; 
the  interests  of  both  are  in  a  great  measure  linked  together ; 


THE    ART  OF  MINING.  39 

both  require  the  fostering  hand  of  government,  both  demand 
the  attention  and  protection  of  the  rulers  of  the  state,  both 
tend  to  increase  the  national  independence,  and  to  create  a 
new  source  of  wealth  and  prosperity  ;  the  miner  extracts,  from 
the  bosom  of  the  earth,  the  metals  which  the  manufacturer  con- 
verts into  the  tools  and  instruments  used  in  daily  life,  and  again 
receives  from  the  latter  those  products  of  human  ingenuity, 
without  which,  he  could  not  continue  his  subterraneous 
works ;  hoth  the  miner  and  the  manufacturer  can  be  greatly 
assisted,  or  much  injured,  by  the  transactions  of  the  mer- 
chant ;  both  can  assist  him  in  his  undertakings,  and  benefit 
him  in  his  speculations;  but  both  are  at  his  mercy;  he  can 
bring  a  temporary  ruin  upon  them,  which  must,  however,  al- 
ways recoil  upon  himself,  and  involve  him  in  their  common 
misfortunes. 

Hence,  although  the  property  of  the  miner  may  resemble 
that  of  the  landholder,  his  interest  connects  him  with  the 
merchant  and  the  manufacturer. 

Before  we  conclude  this  section,  it  remains  for  us  to  deter- 
mine the  importance  of  mining,  compared  with  other  arts,  and 
on  this  subject,  we  trust,  a  few  words  will  suffice. 

It  is  evident  that  this  art  is  of  the  first  importance,  since 
it  may  be  considered  as  the  basis  of  all  other  arts,  inasmuch 
as  these  require  the  previous  success  of  the  miner,  in  order 
to  provide  for  them  their  first  implements,  since  society  could 
not  exist  without  the  use  of  the  metals,  salts,  and  fuel,  de- 
rived from  mining ;  since  civilization  is  essentially  connected 
with  it,  and  must  have  originally  been  dependent  upon  it,  for 
every  improvement  which  it  has  made. 

Let  us  take  any  art  we  please,  and  inquire  into  the  nature 
of  the  first  materials  it  uses,  the  tools  which  it  requires,  the 
products  which  it  consumes,  the  operations  it  performs ;  let 
us  then  abstract  every  material  produced  by  mining,  &c.  and 
let  us  see  what  will  remain ;  we  believe  we  may  safely  aver, 
that  it  will  be  "  stat  nominis  itmbra" 


40  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 


SECTION  THIRD. 

Of  the  actual  state  of  Mining  in  Europe.  Of  the  advantages 
which  migJit  accrue  to  the  United  States  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  Jlrt.  Of  the  obstacles  which  would  intervene,  and 
of  the  best  course  to  be  followed  in  order  to  remove  them* 

The  traveller  who  returns  from  distant  countries,  and  who 
wishes  to  make  known  the  result  of  his  observations  abroad, 
is  seldom  received  by  the  public  with  indulgence.  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  him  not  to  attack  opinions  already  entertained  by 
some  of  his  readers.  Hence,  his  observations  are  weighed 
with  an  unusual  degree  of  severity.  Every  remark  which  he 
makes  is  closely  examined,  and  he  may  indeed  deem  himself 
fortunate,  if,  in  the  review  of  his  opinions,  his  intentions  are 
respected,  and  his  motives  are  not  made  the  subject  of  scru- 
tiny. If  the  observations  he  makes  are  of  a  favourable  na- 
ture, he  is  often  suspected  of  wishing  to  assign  to  his  travels 
an  undeserved  degree  of  importance.  His  praises  are  said  to 
he  lavished  indiscriminately.  The  correctness  of  his  judg- 
ment is  questioned.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  censures  or  ridi- 
cules, he  is  himself  blamed,  and  not  unfrequently  by  the  very 
same  class  of  readers  who  would  have  condemned  his  praises. 
He  is  represented  as  presumptuous,  especially  if  he  happen 
to  be  young ;  his  censures  are  considered  as  the  mere  effect 
of  prejudice ;  he  is  accused  of  being  partial  to  one  nation  at 
the  expense  of  another. 

We  do  not  flatter  ourselves  that  our  remarks  upon  the  ac- 
tual state  of  mining  in  Europe,  will  deserve  or  meet  with  a 
more  favourable  reception  ;  but  we  solicit  the  indulgence  of 
our  readers  on  this  subject,  as  we  believe  it  is  the  first  at- 
tempt of  the  kind  which  has  been  made,  and  that  the  subject 
is  new  to  the  greater  part  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

We  propose  to  examine,  in  the  following  pages,  the  state 
of  the  miner's  art  in  France,  Switzerland,  Savoy,  Germany, 
the  Netherlands,  Scotland,  and  England,  as  we  have  visited 
those  countries,  and  have  paid  particular  attention  to  the  pre- 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  41 

sent  subject.  We  shall  add  a  few  remarks  upon  the  mines  of 
such  other  parts  of  Europe  as  we  have  not  visited  ourselves, 
but  concerning  which  we  have  obtained  correct  accounts  from 
fellow-travellers,  upon  whose  accuracy  we  might  depend. 

Mines  of  France.  Until  the  end  of  the  last  century,  the 
mines  of  France  had  been  neglected :  the  government  had 
either  overlooked  the  subject,  or  been  induced  to  suppose  that 
the  mineral  wealth  of  that  empire  was  but  inconsiderable. 
The  first  attempt  to  improve  the  art  was  made,  we  believe, 
in  1740,  when  the  government  defrayed  the  expenses  of  two 
intelligent  travellers,  (Messrs.  Jars  and  Duhamel,)  who  vi- 
sited the  mines  of  Germany,  Sweden,  and  England,  and  one 
of  whom  wrote  a  series  of  interesting  memoirs  on  these  mines, 
which  were  published  after  his  death,  and  are  considered, 
even  at  present,  as  among  the  most  valuable  text  books  on 
metallurgy.*  A  second  expedition  of  the  same  nature  was 
fitted  out  during  the  few  years  of  comparative  calm  which 
marked  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Lewis  XVI.  All  the 
travellers  who  shared  this  expedition  have  since  died,  except 
the  distinguished  author  of  the  "  Siderotechnia,"f  a  work 
which  contains  all  that  was  known  of  the  art  of  making  iron 
and  steel,  up  to  the  time  of  its  publication.  But  the  most  im- 
portant step,  taken  in  France,  to  improve  the  art  of  mining, 
was  undoubtedly  the  establishment  of  a  School  of  Mines. 
This  school  was  founded  a  few  years  before  the  revolution 
broke  out,  but  it  was  only  brought  into  activity  under  the 
republican  government,  to  which  is  also  due  the  institution  of 
a  periodical  work  of  great  merit,  exclusively  devoted  to  this 
art,  and  to  the  sciences  connected  with  it. 

The  School  of  Mines  was  opened  at  first  in  Paris,  and  its 
original  professors  were  among  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  the  time.  After  the  conquest  of  Savoy,  and  its  union  with 
France,  the  school  was  removed  to  Moutiers,  in  the  Alps, 
not  far  from  Mont  Blanc,  and  a  neighbouring  lead  mine,  of 
some  importance,  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  directors 

*  Voyages  Metallurgiques  par  M .  Jars. 

f  La  Siderotechnie  ou  1'art  de  traeter  les  minerals  de  fer,  par  J.  H.  Has- 
senfratz. — Paris,  1812,  4  vols.  4to. 
6 


42  CONSIDERATIONS    UPOW 

of  the  school.  The  object  of  this  removal  was  to  enable  the 
students  to  become  acquainted  with  the  practical  part  of  the 
art,  at  the  same  time  that  they  studied  its  theory.  This 
school  was  in  reality  a  nursery  of  good  miners.  The  number 
of  engineers  of  mines  which  it  has  produced,  and  the  celebri- 
ty which  many  of  them  have  already  acquired,  while  others 
have  been  employed  in  as  useful,  though  less  brilliant  a  ca- 
reer, arc  the  best  proofs  that  can  be  given  of  the  merits  of 
this  institution. 

On  the  return  of  the  Bourbon  dynasty  to  their  paternal 
throne,  the  new  acquisitions  were  given  up,  and  Savoy  re- 
turned to  its  ancient  masters.  The  School  of  Mines  was  ne- 
cessarily broken  up  ;  it  was  a  short  time  after  re-organized, 
and  located  in  Paris.  The  situation  in  the  metropolis  was 
considered,  in  many  respects,  more  advantageous,  on  account 
of  the  great  facility  which  Paris  affords  over  all  cities,  for 
the  pursuit  of  science.  The  lectures  are  delivered  by  able 
professors,  whose  courses  last  during  the  winter  season  :  an 
excellent  chemical  laboratory  is  annexed  to  the  institution,  in 
which  the  students  are  enabled  to  enter  as  deeply  into  the 
science  of  docimasy  as  their  inclination  prompts,  or  their  ta- 
lents permit  them.  The  school  possesses,  likewise,  a  su- 
perb collection  of  minerals,  an  excellent  library,  a  cabinet  of 
models  of  the  machinery  used  in  mines,  &c.  Teachers  of 
drawing,  and  the  German  language,  have  been  added  to  the 
school,  and  an  instructor  of  the  English  language  was  also 
in  contemplation,  and  has  probably  been  already  annexed  to 
the  institution.  During  the  summer  season,  the  students  tra- 
A<el ;  their  excursions  are  directed  by  the  professors ;  they 
are  generally  sent  to  some  mine,  where  they  spend  several 
months  in  acquiring  a  practical  acquaintance  with  the  opera- 
tions, the  theory  of  which  they  have  been  taught  in  the  win- 
ter lectures.  This  method  of  dividing  the  year  into  two  parts, 
one  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  prosecution  of  the  scientific 
branches,  while  the  other  is  employed  in  acquiring  practical 
experience,  offers  great  advantages,  though  probably  not  so 
many,  upon  the  whole,  as  the  method  followed  at  Mouticrs, 
and  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  academies  of  mines  in 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  43 

Germany.  The  choice  of  students  is  an  ohject  strictly  attend- 
ed to.  The  students  are  divided  into  two  classes.  The  first 
consists  of  young  men  receiving  a  salary  from  government, 
and  who  are  destined  to  supply  vacancies  in  the  corps  of 
mining  engineers.  It  is  indeed  for  these  that  the  school 
was  established  :  but  a  second  class  has  been  added,  consist- 
ing of  such  young  men  as  are  desirous  of  acquiring  a  know- 
ledge of  the  art,  with  the  expectation  of  afterwards  superin- 
tending works  of  their  own.  Their  number  is  limited  ;  and 
they  are  obliged  to  undergo  an  examination  before  their  ad- 
mission. The  royal  students  are  taken  from  those  who  have 
completed  their  studies  at  the  "  Ecole  Polytechnique,"  the 
best  mathematical  school  in  the  world.  They  are  generally 
selected  from  those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  most 
in  that  seminary.^ 

Such  is  the  actual  state  of  this  institution,  which,  under  the 
care  of  its  present  directors  and  professors,  cannot,  we  think, 
but  rise  to  a  great  degree  of  eminence,  and  effect  great  im- 
provements in  the  art  of  mining  in  France.  We  have  per- 
haps dwelt  upon  this  subject  longer  than  it  deserved  ;  but  we 
could  not  pass  slightly  over  an  institution  in  which  we  have 
studied  the  rudiments  of  our  profession,  and  met  with  the 
most  flattering  marks  of  kindness  and  attention  from  the 

*  Besides  these  two  classes  of  students,  established  by  law,  there  are  a 
few  foreign  students  who  have  been  admitted  by  special  permission  granted 
by  the  Director  general  of  mines.  The  extreme  liberality  with  which  the 
French  government  extends  gratuitous  information,  not  only  to  its  own  sub- 
jects, but  also  to  every  foreigner  who  visits  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  study, 
has  often  been  noticed  and  eulogized  by  travellers.  To  the  many  instances 
already  recorded,  we  would  add  the  following  We  arrived  in  Paris  in  1817, 
a  short  time  after  the  re -organization  of  the  school,  and  very  readily  obtained 
the  favour  of  attending  the  lectures  and  of  studying  in  the  laboratory  of  the 
school;  in  a  word,  we  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  the  royal  students,  with- 
out being  obliged  to  obey  the  regulations  by  which  they  were  governed. 
Since  that  time,  they  have  received,  in  the  space  of  four  years,  eight  foreign- 
ers ;  four  of  whom  were  from  the  United  States,  one  from  Peru,  one  from 
Switzerland,  one  from  Poland,  and  one  from  Italy.  The  four  from  the  United 
States  were  all  from  Pennsylvania,  and  three  of  them  are  Phi  lade  Iphians. 
The  time  which  most  of  these  continued  attached  to  the  school  was  from 
two  to  three  years,  and  all  were  allowed  to  remain  as  long  as  they  chose. 


44  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

distinguished  professors  and  directors  of  the  school.  With 
many  of  the  students  we  have  contracted  friendships  which 
will  ever  render  the  School  of  Mines  of  Paris  the  source  of 
pleasant  recollections. 

The  mines  in  France  are  generally  worked  with  great 
talent  and  regularity.  They  are  not  all  as  profitable  as 
they  might  he ;  but  this  is  owing  to  causes  which  are  quite 
independent  of  the  miner's  control.  A  deficiency  in  canal 
and  river  navigation,  which  prevents  them  from  sending  off 
their  products  in  every  direction,  as  they  would  do  if  the 
modes  of  communication  were  easier,  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  greatest  impediments  to  the  success  of  mining  in 
France.  The  second  cause  which  operates  to  diminish  their 
profits,  arises  partly  from  the  national  character  and  partly 
from  the  want  of  capital.  It  is  seldom  that  one  can  see 
in  France  the  public  spirit  which  we  admire  so  much  in 
this  country,  but  the  effects  of  which,  we  believe,  are  no 
where  so  conspicuous  as  they  are  in  England.  Every  insti- 
tution in  France  seems  to  prosper  but  little,  unless  specially 
protected  by  government ;  but  even  that  protection  cannot 
avail  them  much,  for  it  introduces  a  system  of  favour  and 
monopoly  which  is  always  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  manufacturer  and  the  merchant.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  characteristics  of  continental  Europe,  one  which  al- 
ways calls  forth  an  expression  of  surprise  from  an  American 
or  Englishman,  that  there  exists  on  the  continent  no  canal  or 
road  companies,  no  associations  for  internal  improvement, 
in  a  word,  but  few  companies  created  for  the  purpose  of  car- 
rying on  works  of  national  importance,  by  which  they  them- 
selves may  be  benefited.  If  the  traveller  expresses  his  sur- 
prise at  this  apparent  indifference  and  want  of  energy,  he  is 
ridiculed,  his  plans  are  considered  as  visionary,  and  compar- 
ed to  the  famous  bubble  of  Law  under  Lewis  XV.  or  to  the 
assignats.  A  want  of  confidence  in  associations  similar  to 
our  incorporated  companies,  has  prevented  their  success,  and 
must  be  considered  as  having  severely  affected  every  branch 
of  public  economy,  and  none  perhaps  more  sorely  than  that 
of  mining. 


THE    ART   OT  MINING.  45 

111  mines,  France  is  not  deficient ;  and  if  every  discoverer 
of  a  mine  were  well  rewarded  for  his  trouble,  and  capitalists 
disposed  to  unite  and  work  them,  we  have  no  doubt,  that  in 
ten  years'  time,  the  mining  establishments  in  France  would 
have  doubled  both  in  number  and  importance.  Something 
is  certainly  doing  in  that  way  at  present,  as  was  proved  by  the 
creation,  in  1818,  of  a  company,  with  a  capital  of  about  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  working  the 
iron  ore  of  the  coal  mines  of  St.  Etienne,  by  means  of  coak, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  English  work  their  clay  iron 
stone,  from  which  they  extract  their  best  castings. 

France  abounds  in  coal  of  the  very  best  quality.  From  a 
map  inserted  in  the  "Journal  des  Mines,"  Vol.  XII.  it  would 
appear,  that  out  of  the  eighty-three  departments  into  which 
France  is  at  present  divided,  there  are  forty  which  afford 
coal.  The  principal  coal  fields  are  near  Valenciennes,  in 
French  Flanders.  These  mines  all  belong  to  one  company. 
They  raise  coal  by  twenty -two  pits,  from  a  depth  which  va- 
ries from  six  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred  feet.  The  popula- 
tion in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mines,  and  receiving  its 
support  exclusively  from  them,  amounts  to  upwards  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred  inhabitants.  The  company  divides 
the  profits  every  year.  They  are  said  to  exceed  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  annually.  It  is  difficult  to  state 
upon  what  capital  they  work.  The  original  stock  was  incon- 
siderable, but  has  been  gradually  increasing,  by  improve- 
ments made  with  money  arising  out  of  the  profits  of  the 
mine.  The  money  advanced  at  first  did  not  probably  exceed 
the  annual  interest  at  present  yielded  to  the  stockholders. 
The  actual  capital  is  a  thing  very  difficult  to  ascertain,  be- 
cause it  varies  every  year.  For  instance,  they  are  obliged, 
every  other  year,  to  sink  a  new  shaft,  which  costs  about  forty 
thousand  dollars.  From  some  documents  which  we  have 
seen,  it  would  seem  that  the  profits  (if  they  have  not  been 
overrated)  amount  to  about  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the 
quantity  of  coal  sold  annually.  These  mines  are,  we  believe, 
among  the  most  interesting  and  best  directed  that  we  have 
seen.  The  great  regularity  with  which  they  are  worked 


46  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

prevents  many  accidents ;  and  the  able  and  deserving  dipect- 
or*  of  this  establishment  unites  sufficient  theory  to  the  expe- 
rience of  many  years,  to  enable  him  to  conduct  with  facility 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  concerns  of  which  the 
art  of  mining  can  boast. 

Next  in  importance  to  Valenciennes  is  the  coal  field  of  St. 
Etienne,  near  Lyons.  The  coal  is  here  also  of  a  very  good 
quality.  It  is  not  worked  to  so  great  a  depth  5  but,  instead 
of  being  worked  by  a  single  company,  it  belongs  to  a  great 
number  of  small  proprietors,  who  work  it  each  on  his  own 
account  and  in  his  own  way.  This  causes  a  great  waste  of 
coal ;  accidents  are  more  frequent ;  and  the  mines  will  be 
rendered  unprofitable  much  sooner.  One  advantage,  how- 
ever, which  this  method  produces,  is,  that  it  establishes  a 
competition  useful  to  society,  and  that  it  destroys  the  mono- 
poly which  exists  at  Valenciennes.  The  abundance  and 
cheapness  of  coal  here  has  had  the  same  effect  as  in  England. 
St.  Etienne  has  become  one  of  the  first  manufacturing  towns 
of  France,  and  bids  fair  to  become  a  second  Manchester  or 
Birmingham.  Some  of  the  finest  ribands,  silks,  and  velvets, 
of  France,  are  made  in  this  town.  Should  the  company 
we  have  already  mentioned  succeed  in  its  attempt  to  work 
the  clay  iron  stone,  this  city  will  acquire  an  immense  increase 
of  trade  and  prosperity. 

Besides  these  coal  mines,  the  French  have  others  in  vari- 
ous places,  as  at  Ingrande  upon  the  Loire,  at  the  Creusot, 
at  Litry  in  the  north  of  France,  &c. 

*  M.  Mathieu,  the  present  director  of  these  mines,  had  the  good  fortune,, 
when  under-director,  to  rescue  from  death  fifteen  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
Having  heard  that  a  party  of  miners  had  been  working  in  a  part  of  the  mine, 
where  the  air  was  very  foul,  and  that  they  were  perishing  from  want  of  fresh 
air,  but  that  no  one  would  venture  to  go  and  relieve  them,  he  without  hesi- 
tation hastened  to  the  dangerous  spot,  and  brought  out  one  of  ihe  unfortu- 
nate victims.  Encouraged  by  his  success,  he  renewed  his  generous  effort, 
and  succeeded  in  bringing  out  fourteen  safe  ;  but  in  his  attempt  to  rescue 
the  fifteenth,  he  himself,  being  exhausted  with  fatigue,  and  choked  by  the 
foul  air,  fell  almost  lifeless,  and  was  with  great  difficulty  restored  to  a  life 
the  remaining  part  of  which  must  be  blessed  by  the  recollection  of  his  heroic 
deed. 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  47 

With  iron,  the  French  are  also  well  supplied.  Their  prin- 
cipal ore  is  the  bog  ore.  The  furnaces  are  numerous,  and 
generally  are  of  similar  forms  and  dimensions.  There 
are  few  iron  works  on  a  very  large  scale;  for  the  most 
part,  they  are  subdivided  into  small  properties.  Their  best 
works  are  in  the  centre  of  France,  in  the  cidevant  Province 
du  Berry. 

The  clay  iron  ore  has  as  yet  been  worked  in  no  part  of 
France,  that  we  know  of.  Some  attempts  made  in  1817,  at 
Valenciennes,  were  successful  ;  but  the  quantity  of  ore  not 
being  sufficient  to  render  it  an  object  worthy  of  attention,  the 
working  of  it  was  abandoned.  The  quantity  at  St.  Etienne 
will,  it  is  believed,  be  more  considerable. 

The  sparry  iron  ore  is  worked  in  the  Comte  de  Foix,  and 
principally  in  the  department  of  Isere,  where  the  furnaces  of 
Allevard  enjoy  a  well-deserved  celebrity,  and  are  well  worth 
being  visited.  An  attempt  was  made  to  work  these  ores  in 
the  Catalonian  furnace,  in  which  the  ore  is  reduced  by  a  sin- 
gle operation  into  metallic  iron.  It  is  said,  this  method  had 
answered  very  well,  near  Avignon.  The  first  attempts  at 
Allevard  were  successful,  but  afterwards  the  iron  produced 
was  found  to  be  of  a  very  inferior  quality.  When  we  visited 
the  works,  this  furnace  was  not  in  operation,  owing  to  the 
pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  owner.  Since  that  time, 
we  have  understood  that  the  works  had  been  resumed,  but 
with  what  success  we  know  not.  It  is  probable  that  it  re- 
quires some  skill  and  a  great  deal  of  care  on  the  part  of  the 
workmen,  who,  if  not  strictly  watched,  are  very  apt  to  be 
inattentive;  and  the  quality  of  the  iron  is  easily  affected  by 
the  slightest  neglect  on  their  part. 

Charcoal  is  almost  the  only  fuel  used  in  the  iron  works : 
it  is  often  a  very  expensive  article,  and  no  doubt  coak  could 
be  substituted  with  great  success  and  great  economy  in  many 
cases.  The  consumption  of  iron  in  France  exceeds  the  quan- 
tity manufactured,  a  great  quantity  being  annually  imported. 
The  castings  are  tolerably  good,  though  very  inferior  to  the 
English.  Their  iron  varies  much  in  quality,  but  their  best 
cannot  stand  a  comparison  with  the  Russian  or  Swedish  iron. 


4S  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

This  inferiority  is  probably  owing  to  the  quality  of  the  ores, 
which  are  seldom  entirely  free  of  iron  pyrites,  or  copper  ore, 
besides  some  phosphate  of  iron. 

The  specular  iron  ore  is  worked  nearFramont,  and  affords 
employment  to  upwards  of  two  hundred  workmen.  Cabinet 
specimens  of  this  ore  are  found  in  this  mine,  equal  in  beauty 
to  the  Elbesc  iron  ore,  and  are  highly  prized. 

With  lead,  France  is  not  very  abundantly  supplied.  Seve- 
ral mines  which  were  formerly  worked,  in  Britanny,  have 
been  abandoned  ;  and  there  remain  in  that  province  at  pre- 
sent, but  the  mines  of  Poullaouen  and  Huelgoat,  which  are 
worked  by  one  company.  These  mines  are  tolerably  rich  in 
silver,  at  least  that  of  Huelgoat,  wrhich  contains  sometimes 
in  the  pure  galena  as  much  as  T^^W  of  silver. 

The  quantity  of  silver  and  lead  annually  produced  is  con- 
siderable; the  profits  resulting  from  it  have  varied.  At 
times  they  are  very  considerable,  then  again  very  small ; 
and,  at  other  times,  these  mines  have  proved  to  be  a  losing 
concern.  The  mines  are  at  present  in  a  very  flourishing 
condition,  and  bid  fair  to  rise  in  importance  and  profit,  un- 
der the  care  of  their  present  director,  Mr.  Juncker,  an  en- 
gineer of  mines  of  fine  talents,  who  has  already  introduced 
several  valuable  improvements  in  the  manner  of  smelting 
and  dressing  the  ore. 

Besides  these,  there  are  lead  mines  in  the  south  of  France. 
Those  in  the  department  of  the  Lozere,  are  important  on  ac- 
count of  the  silver  which  they  contain.  At  Vienne,  not  far 
from  Lyons,  the  lead  ore  is  worked  by  a  new  metallurgical 
process,  which  consists  in  smelting  it  with  old  iron  castings 
in  a  reverberatory  furnace  of  a  particular  form  and  con- 
struction. 

In  copper,  France  is  at  present  very  deficient ;  there  ex- 
ist, to  our  knowledge,  but  the  mines  of  Chessy  and  St.  Bel, 
near  Lyons,  both  of  which  are  owned  in  part  by,  and  are  un- 
der the  direction  of,  M.  Jars,  a  near  relation  of  the  cele- 
brated author  of  the  "Voyages  Metallurgiques."  The  mine 
of  St.  Bel  is  worked  upon  a  considerable  vein  of  pyrites,  the 
average  richness  of  which  never  exceeds  5  per  cent.;  general- 


THE    ART   OF    MINING.  49 

ly  about  3  per  cent.  At  Chessy  they  have  worked  a  similar 
vein,  but  their  attention  has  been,  for  the  last  few  years,  en- 
grossed by  a  rich  deposit  of  carbonate  of  copper,  both  blue 
and  green.  It  is  this  mine  which  has  yielded  those  superb 
specimens  of  azure  copper  ore  which  have  so  justly  excited 
the  admiration  of  all  those  who  have  seen  them. 

More  lately,  they  have  been  working  a  black  ore,  the  na- 
ture of  which  had  not  been  exactly  ascertained,  but  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  mixture  of  copper  pyrites,  and  oxide  of  cop- 
per. A  very  interesting  paper  on  the  nature  of  this  ore,  and 
on  its  composition,  has  appeared  a  short  time  since  in  the 
"  Annales  des  Mines,"  for  1820.  The  paper  is  by  M.  Thi- 
baud,  engineer  of  mines,  with  notes  by  Professor  Berthier  5 
it  is  calculated  to  throw  much  light  upon  the  subject  of  cop- 
per ores  in  general,  and  the  new  products  formed  in  copper 
furnaces. 

The  quantity  of  copper  produced  annually  by  these  mines 
is  but  trifling ;  but  the  quality  of  the  copper  is  remarkably 
good. 

The  French  work  mines  of  antimony  in  Auvergne.  The 
veins  of  this  metal  are  very  abundant,  but  the  quantity  re- 
quired in  the  arts  being  small,  they  have  not  been  worked 
to  any  great  extent,  or  with  much  regularity ;  there  has  been 
a  great  waste  of  ore.  The  French  export  a  considerable 
quantity  of  antimony. 

Gold,  silver,  and  tin,  are  not  worked  in  France.  Speci- 
mens of  these  three  metals  have  been  found,  and  the  two  first 
were  worked  before  the  French  revolution,  but  they  have 
been  abandoned  as  unprofitable.  Tin  ore  has  been  found 
within  only  a  few  years  past.  It  was  discovered  in  two  dif- 
ferent points  :  the  first  near  Limoges  ;  the  second  riot  very 
far  from  Nantes.  In  both  places  the  administration  of  mines 
caused  some  money  to  be  spent  in  works  to  ascertain  the  ex- 
tent of  the  deposit,  but  no  satisfactory  result  was  obtained. 
Near  Limoges,  old  scorias  and  slags  have  been  found,  which 
prove  that  this  mine  had  been  worked  at  some  very  distant 
epocha,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  prior  to  the  con- 
quest of  Gaul  by  Julius  Csesar.  In  the  year  1818,  about 


50  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

2000^5.  weight  of  metallic  tin,  of  a  very  good  quality,  was 
obtained  from  the  ore  mixed  with  the  sand,  on  the  sea-shore 
near  Nantes.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  mine  of  Li- 
moges presents  all  the  geological  characters  of  tin  mines  in 
other  countries.  That  of  Nantes  has,  in  like  manner,  offer- 
ed the  most  important  characters,  but  not  the  interesting 
and  hitherto  constant  association  with  wolfram  and  arsenical 
pyrites,  &c.  There  is,  therefore,  reason  to  believe,  that  if 
this  mine  could  be  worked  with  advantage,  it  would  yield  tin 
of  the  first  quality,  as  it  is  associated  with  no  other  ore  than 
magnetic  iron  ore,  and  that  the  iron  might  probably  be  easi- 
ly separated  during  the  metallurgical  operations,  if  not  pre- 
viously washed  out  of  it. 

Zinc  exists  in  France,  but  only  in  combination  with  sul- 
phur. It  has  been  ascertained  that  this  ore  (the  Blende)  could 
be  used  in  the  making  of  brass,  £c.;  but  the  French  find  it 
more  advantageous  to  import  the  calaminc  from  Belgium. 

Mines  of  salt  were  formerly  unknown  in  France,  but  with- 
in the  last  three  years  a  very  rich  and  extensi\7e  bed  has 
been  discovered  in  the  eastern  part  of  France,  and  promises 
to  be  very  profitable  to  the  undertakers.  It  was  accidental- 
ly discovered  in  1819,  by  persons  who  were  boring  for  coal. 

Mines  of  Savoy.  Savoy  is  not  as  rich  in  mines  as  from 
its  rugged  and  mountainous  aspect  it  might  be  expected  to 
be.  It  possesses,  however,  many  important  mines  of  sparry 
iron  ore,  some  of  which  have  been  worked  for  upwards  of 
five  centuries.  The  most  interesting  mine  which  the  coun- 
try presents,  is  the  lead  mine  of  Pesey,  an  establishment 
which  does  the  greatest  honour  to  the  French  engineers,  un- 
der whose  direction  it  arose  to  an  unusual  degree  of  splen- 
dour, during  the  time  that  Savoy  was  united  to  France.  It 
still  continues  to  flourish  under  the  care  of  an  able  director, 
to  whom  the  Sardinian  government  intrusted  it  after  the 
cession  of  Savoy.* 

*  If  we  may  be  allowed  to  introduce  here  a  few  remarks  upon  the  great 
advantage  of  uniting  theoretical  knowledge  to  practical  experience,  we  would 
observe,  that  it  is  by  the  application  of  theory  in  a  prudent  and  skilful  man- 
ner, that  the  mine  of  Pesey  arrived  at  its  present  degree  of  importance- 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  51 

A  copper  mine  has  been  worked  near  St.  Georges.  The 
ore  is  a  pyrites,  and  is  found  in  the  same  veins  with  the 
sparry  iron  ore,  or  in  veins  which  intersect  them.  A  very 
interesting  mine  was  discovered  at  Servoz,  in  the  celeb  rated 
Valley  of  Chamouny  ;  the  ore  has  in  many  respects  the  cha- 
racter of  a  grey  copper  ore ;  it  has  been  abandoned  from  the 
difficulty  of  smelting  it.  It  is  probable,  that  if  the  French 
School  of  Mines  had  remained  in  the  Alps,  some  method  to 
smelt  the  ore  would  have  been  discovered,  and  we  must  re- 
gret, for  the  sake  of  science,  that  this  mine  should  have  been 
abandoned  $  we  have,  however,  heard  that  one  of  our  late  fel- 
low students,  at  the  School  of  Mines,  had  some  intention  to 
undertake  to  work  it,  and  we  sincerely  hope  that  he  may 
succeed,  both  on  his  own  account,  and  for  the  interest  of  me- 
tallurgy. 

Mines  of  Italy.  Italy  is  but  poor  in  mines ;  it  contains  no 
metallic  mines  of  any  note.  The  gold  mines  of  Macugnaga 
consist  in  iron  pyrites,  containing  a  very  small  proportion 
of  gold  ;  they  are  not  profitable.  The  mines  of  alum  at  the 
Tolfa,  near  Naples,  are  celebrated  and  interesting.  The 
island  of  Elba  is  famed  for  its  specular  iron  ores,  which  are 
worked  on  a  very  large  scale,  and  with  success. 

Mines  of  Switzerland.  Switzerland  presents  now  but  little 
interest  to  the  miner ;  the  salt  mine  of  Bex,  near  the  lake  of 
Geneva,  is,  however,  an  object  well  worthy  of  his  attention; 
at  this  mine  there  exist  some  of  the  finest  and  most  interest- 
ing works  which  we  have  ever  seen,  and  they  are  remarka- 
ble for  the  nicety  and  correctness  with  which  they  are  exe- 
cuted. 

Lead  has  been  discovered  in  several  parts  of  Switzerland, 
and  a  party  of  Saxon  miners  left  their  country  last  spring, 
with  a  view  of  undertaking  to  work  it. 

When  this  mine  was  first  intrusted  to  the  French  "  Conseil  des  Mines," 
the  lead  extracted  from  the  ore  did  not  exceed  27  per  cent.  By  gradual 
improvements,  introduced  with  caution  and  science,  the  product  obtained 
by  them  rose,  in  a  few  years'  time,  to  73  per  cent,  which  is  the  maximum 
ef  what  that  ore  can  yield. 


52  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

Mines  of  Germany.  We  now  come  to  a  country  in  which 
the  art  of  mining  has  been  prosecuted  for  many  centuries, 
with  a  degree  of  attention  and  scientific  knowledge,  which 
was  not  possessed  in  other  countries.  In  Germany,  mining 
has  been  considered  as  one  of  the  most  important  and  most 
honourable  professions ;  it  has  received  the  peculiar  notice 
and  favour  of  the  sovereign,  and  has  been  carried  to  a 
pitch  of  excellence  almost  inconceivable ;  every  thing  has 
been  reduced  to  rule ;  if  we  were  not  convinced  that  the  Ger- 
man is  an  essentially  mining  nation,  we  should  acquire  this 
conviction  by  examining  the  state  of  the  art  in  their  coun- 
try ;  by  tracing  its  progress  from  the  earliest  days ;  observ- 
ing how  anciently  it  flourished  in  Germany ;  what  number- 
less discoveries  have  been  made  in  that  country ;  what  dis- 
tinguished professors  in  this  art  it  has  furnished,  &c. 

There  may  be  said  to  be  in  Germany  five  great  centres 
of  mining. 

1.  That  of  Freyberg  in  Saxony ;  this  comprehends  all  the 
silver,  lead,  and  copper  mines,  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood, which  support  a  population  of  about  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants ;  also,  the  silver,  tin,  and  cobalt  mines  of  Anna- 
berg,  Altenberg,  Zinnwald,  Schneeberg,  Marienberg,  &c. 
in  Saxony ;  and  those  of  Joachimsthal,  and  Johann  Georgen 
Stadt,  in  Bohemia. 

The  whole  population  of  this  district,  comprised  in  the 
66  Erzgebirge,"  or  ridge  of  mountains  which  separates  Sax- 
ony from  Bohemia,  depends  entirely  upon  mining  for  its 
means  of  subsistence.  This  district  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting to  the  miner;  it  furnishes  silver,  lead,  copper,  tin,  iron, 
cobalt,  arsenic,  and  coal.  It  is  quite  limited  in  its  extent ; 
the  population  supported  by  the  mines  exceeds  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  produce  in  silver  is  considerable ; 
that  of  Saxony  alone,  amounts  annually  to  about  fifty-four 
thousand  marks,  or  about  twenty-seven  thousand  pounds 
weight ;  the  value  of  which  exceeds  half  a  million  of  dollars ; 
the  lead  is  likewise  considerable ;  copper  is  much  less  so  ; 
but  tin  is  a  very  important  item ;  this  is  the  only  place  on 
the  continent  of  Europe  where  tin  ore  is  worked  5  and 


THE   ART  OF  MINING.  5S 

though  the  quantity  furnished  is  inconsiderable,  when  com- 
pared with  tiiat  produced  by  the  Cornish  mines,  still  it  must 
be  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  wealth  which 
this  country  possesses.* 

Iron  is  worked  with  advantage  in  some  parts  of  the  Erz- 
gebirge,  but  in  this  respect  the  Saxons  are  far  inferior  to 
their  neighbours,  the  Prussians.  There  are  no  cobalt  mines 
in  Europe  besides  those  in  Germany,  and  among  them  those 
of  Saxony  and  Bohemia  deserve  particular  notice ;  the 
finest  smalt  known,  is  that  produced  by  the  Saxon  cobalt. 

There  are  three  coal  fields  of  some  importance  in  Saxony, 
but  which  are  not  worked  with  that  degree  of  science  and 
activity  which  we  have  a  right  to  expect  from  German 
miners.  If  we  inquire  into  the  causes  which  have  given  so 
much  celebrity  to  the  mines  of  Saxony,  we  will  find  that  it 
is  due  more  to  the  care  and  patronage  which  they  have  re- 
ceived from  the  nation  at  large,  than  to  the  intrinsic  wealth 
of  the  mines  themselves ;  at  least,  it  is  certain,  that  nothing 
short  of  the  wise  regulations  under  which  they  are  now  go- 
verned, could  have  prevented  them  from  sinking  into  insig- 
nificance; for  the  great  depression  in  the  value  of  silver, 
since  the  discovery  of  America,  and  the  resulting  great  in- 
crease in  the  price  of  materials,  labour,  &c.  have  changed 
the  relative  proportion  of  the  produce  to  the  expense,  and 
made  these  mines,  which  were  at  one  time  the  envy  of  all 
the  sovereigns  of  Germany,  and  a  source  of  constant  discord 
among  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Saxony,  an  object  of 
comparatively  little  profit.  If  we  are  to  credit  the  historians, 
the  princes  of  Saxony  were  noticed  and  envied  even  by  the 
emperor  himself;  so  great  was  their  display  of  wealth  and 
splendour  in  all  the  public  ceremonies  and  tournaments  of 
the  middle  ages. 

In  Saxony,  the  art  of  mining  has  been  raised  to  the  rank 
of  the  most  honourable  profession ;  the  sons  of  the  proudest 
noblemen  of  the  land  do  not  consider  it  as  unworthy  of  their 

*  The  tin  mines  of  Monte  Rey,  in  Spain,  were  never  very  considerable, 
and  are,  we  believe,  almost  entirely  abandoned.  Those  of  Portugal  have 
long  since  ceased  to  be  worked. 


54  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

attention  to  go  through  the  regular  studies,  and  perform  the 
same  task  as  the  common  miners,  in  order1  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  the  higher  offices.  The  common  miners  have 
great  privileges  and  marks  of  distinction  ;  they  are  exempt 
from  militia  duty ;  they  wear  an  uniform  of  their  own,  the 
same  which  has  been  worn  for  the  last  five  centuries ;  they 
have  days  of  festiv  al  exclusively  their  own  ;  it  is  in  this  man- 
ner that  they  have  been  made  to  cherish  their  profession ; 
nowhere  have  we  seen  so  great  an  esprit  de  corps  as  sub- 
sists among  them ;  in  the  "  Erzgebirgc,"  their  manners  and 
customs,  even  their  language  and  expressions,  have  all  a  con- 
nexion with  the  art  which  they  so  highly  honour,  and  which 
has  been  professed  by  fathers  and  sons  for  centuries. 

The  Academy  of  Mines  of  Freyberg  was  established 
about  the  year  1760;  it  has  acquired  a  great  reputation  all 
over  Europe,  and  especially  in  Germany  :  the  name  of  Wer- 
ner tended  to  increase  its  fame,  and  long  supported  it ;  since 
his  death,  his  chair  has  been  filled  in  a  manner  highly  satis- 
factory to  all  the  true  friends  of  science.  The  great  advan- 
tage which  the  Academy  of  Freyberg  can  boast  of  is  its  si- 
tuation ;  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  this  city,  there 
are  one  hundred  and  thirty  mines,  to  all  of  which  the  stu- 
dents have  free  access,  and  which  they  are  even  invited  to 
visit ;  so  that  a  constant  field  for  observation  is  presented  to 
them,  and  a  great  mass  of  practical  information  may  be  ac- 
quired in  a  short  time.  The  students  of  government  have  a 
regular  task  assigned  to  them  in  the  mines,  like  common 
workmen,  and  which  they  are  obliged  to  perform ;  in  this 
manner  they  become  familiar  with  the  use  of  the  tools  of  the 
miner,  £c. 

2.  The  second  great  mining  district  of  Germany  is  that 
of  the  Hartz,  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover ;  the  mountains  of 
the  Hartz  present  a  deposit  of  nearly  the  same  importance 
and  value  as  that  of  the  Saxon  ridge ;  the  mines  are  exclu- 
sively silver,  lead,  and  copper ;  lead  is  the  most  important 
produce  of  these  mines :  the  administration  of  mines  in  this 
district  is  generally  pointed  out  by  the  German  writers  as 
a  model  for  imitation.  Great  powers  are  vested  in  the  sove- 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  55 

reign,  and,  through  him,  in  the  officers  of  mines ;  the  mines 
have  heen  worked  since  the  eleven ih  century,  arid  are  still  in 
a  highly  flourishing  condition.  Like  the  mountains  of  Sax- 
ony, this  country  was  peopled  by  colonies  of  miners ;  and  if 
it  were  not  for  the  mines,  the  population  would  be  unable  to 
support  itself  there.  They  would  be  obliged  to  remove  to 
more  fertile  regions.  The  mines  of  the  Hartz  are  particular- 
ly interesting,  on  account  of  the  great  perfection  to  which 
the  dressing  of  ores  has  been  carried,  and  for  the  able  man- 
ner in  which  some  of  the  mines  are  worked,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  fire,  or  torrefaction — principally  that  of  the  Ram- 
melsberg. 

3.  The  third  district  of  mines  which  we  shall  notice,  is 
that  near  Siegen,  on  the  Rhine.     It  now  belongs  to  Prussia, 
and  is  rich  in  mines  of  lead,  copper,  iron,  zinc,  cobalt,  &c. 
These  mines  have  already  attained  a  great  degree  of  import- 
ance; and,  under  the  active  and  vigilant  direction  of  the 
Prussian  Council  of  Mines,  they  promise  to  increase  rapidly 
in  importance  and  extent. 

4.  The  fourth  district  is  that  of  the  Mansfeld,  which  for- 
merly belonged  to  Saxony,  but  now  forms  a  part  of  the  king- 
dom of  Prussia.   It  contains  many  rich  works  of  copper,  va- 
luable by  the  silver  contained  in  it,  and  remarkable  on  ac- 
count of  the  manner  in  which  they  are  conducted.    The  ore, 
being  in  a  bed  whose  thickness  is  but  trifling,  requires  a  pe- 
culiar manner  of  working  it.     The  miners  are  obliged  to  lie 
flat  upon  the  ground,  resting  upon  their  left  side,  or  upon 
their  stomach.  In  this  difficult  posture,  they  work  with  their 
right  arm,  and  make  excavations  which  do  not  exceed  twelve 
inches  in  height.  This  method,  which  is  termed  the  "  Krumm 
Hals  Arbeit,"  is  very  laborious  and  fatiguing,  and  nothing 
but  early  habit  could  enable  a  man  to  work  in  mines  of  this 
nature.    The  object,  in  making  such  small  excavations,  is  to 
avoid  the  expense  attending  the  making  of  larger  ones,  and 
of  propping  them  up  when  made. 

5.  The  fifth  mining  district  of  Germany  is  in  Silesia,  one 
of  the  richest  and  most  fertile  countries  in  Europe.     It  be- 
longs to  Prussia,  and  the  present  state  of  Silesia  does  honour 


56  CONSIDERATIONS   UPOX 

to  its  government.  The  mines  here  are  principally  coal,  iron, 
and  lead.  The  iron  works  are  said  to  be  almost  unequalled 
in  any  part  of  the  world  for  their  beauty  ;  they  are  on  a  vei-j 
large  scale;  that  of  Koenigsbutte  is  the  most  celebrated; 
their  castings  are  of  the  very  best  quality ;  the  coal  mines 
are  important,  and  in  number  exceed  one  hundred ;  the  coal 
is  coaked,  and  used  in  the  smelting  of  their  iron.  We  have 
seen  articles  executed  at  the  Berlin  works,  with  the  pig  iron 
from  Silesia,  which,  for  their  beauty  and  finish,  exceed  any 
thing  ever  cast  in  iron  even  in  England.  A  number  of  small 
ornaments,  such  as  rings,  necklaces,  eardrops,  &c.  have  been 
made  there,  which  equal  any  similar  article  of  female  dress. 

Lead  exists  at  Tarnowitz,  in  a  bed  presenting  very  inter- 
esting geological  features. 

Besides  these  five  great  mining  districts,  there  are,  in  Ger- 
many, many  other  places  worth  visiting,  and  very  important 
to  the  miner.  Among  these  we  may  mention  the  iron  and 
steel  works  of  Styria  and  Carinthia,  in  the  Austrian  domi- 
nion, where  the  best  German  steel  is  made.  The  important 
quicksilver  mines  of  Idria,  which  have  often  supplied  the  sil- 
ver mills  of  America  with  mercury,  when  the  mines  of  Alma- 
den  in  Spain  could  not  do  it ;  also,  the  mercurial  mines  of 
the  Palatinate  and  the  Dutchy  of  Zweibriicke,  (Deux  Fonts,) 
which  are  now  annexed  to  Bavaria. 

With  salt  mines,  the  German  empire  is  well  provided.  We 
find  in  it  the  rich  country  of  Salzburgh,  which  owes  its  name 
to  the  valuable  deposits  of  salt  which  it  contains. 

To  this  long  list  of  interesting  mines,  we  may  add  the  cop- 
per and  cobalt- mines  of  Riegelsdorf  in  Hesse  Cassel,  the  rich 
cobalt  mines  of  Thuringen,  &c, 

We  might  lengthen  out  this  enumeration  of  German  mines, 
for  no  country  is  so  rich  in  mineral  deposits  as  this  empire ; 
but  besides  these,  it  enjoys  all  those  of  the  countries  annexed 
to  it,  which  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  wealth  of 
Austria  and  Prussia,  viz.  Hungary,  Tyrol,  Poland,  &c. 

Hungary  is  celebrated  for  its  gold  mines,  the  only  mines 
of  this  metal,  worked  with  any  kind  of  advantage,  in  Europe. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  great  care  given  to  the  washing  of  the 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  57 

ore,  and  the  scientific  disposition  of  the  tables  used  for  that 
purpose,  these  mines  could  not  be  worked. 

The  salt  mines  of  Poland  and  Hungary  are  proverbial. — 
The  names  of  Wieliczka  and  Bochnia  are  familiar  to  all. 

The  mines  of  Germany  are  more  remarkable  for  the  regu- 
larity with  which  the  operations  are  carried  on,  for  the  sci- 
entific disposition  given  to  the  works,  for  the  length  of  time 
that  the  mines  are  kept  in  activity,  than  for  the  wealth  which 
they  produce,  or  the  profits  which  they  afford.  In  the  mines 
of  Germany,  we  admire  more  the  works  of  man  than  the 
gifts  of  nature.  If  it  be  observed,  that  their  mines  yield  but 
little  or  no  profit,  we  reply,  that  were  it  not  for  their  great 
improvements  in  the  art  of  mining,  they  would  long  since 
have  been  compelled  to  abandon  them — that  no  nation,  that 
we  are  acquainted  with,  could  have  worked  these  mines  as 
the  Germans  have — that  it  is  to  the  persevering,  industrious, 
and  saving  character  of  the  German  nation,  that  we  are  to 
ascribe  the  success  of  their  mines,  and  (however  disagreeable 
they  may  be  to  our  general  ideas  of  individual  rights)  it  can 
not  be  disputed,  that  it  is  to  the  wisdom  of  their  laws  that  we 
are  to  assign  the  present  flourishing  state  of  their  mines.  We 
have  heard  some  travellers,  who  took  too  superficial  a  view 
of  the  subject,  scoff  at  the  character  of  the  mining  institu- 
tions of  Germany,  and  ask  what  advantage  a  nation  derived 
from  mines  which  were  not  profitable  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view  ?  To  this  we  would  reply,  by  asking  if  it  be  of  no  ad- 
vantage to  Germany  to  be  able  to  extract  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  not  only  metals  enough  for  her  own  consumption, 
but  even  for  exportation  ?  If  it  be  of  no  advantage  to  the 
German  empire,  to  be  independent  of  all  its  neighbours  for 
the  most  useful  materials  required  in  the  arts  ?  If  it  be  of  no 
advantage  to  be  able  to  coin,  every  year,  nearly  two  millions 
of  dollars'  worth  of  precious  metals,  derived  from  its  own 
soil  ?  If  there  be  no  advantage  in  supporting  a  population  of 
upwards  of  a  million  of  inhabitants,  which  otherwise  would  be 
without  employment  ?  If  the  country  is  not  benefited  by  find- 
ing means  to  support  this  population,  upon  cold  and  rugged 
hills,  whose  barren  soil  could  never  be  fertilized  by  agricul- 
8 


58  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

ture?  If  there  be  no  advantage  in  consuming  the  timber, 
which  would  otherwise  grow  to  no  purpose,  on  the  summit  of 
those  uninhabited  mountains  ?  In  deriving  benefit  from  those 
numberless  springs  and  streams  of  water,  which  are  now 
made  subservient  to  the  uses  of  man,  and  which  otherwise 
would  flow  in  useless  and  undisturbed  tranquillity,  like  the 
great  waters  of  our  western  wilds  ? 

The  traveller  who,  after  having  duly  weighed  all  these 
questions,  can  unhesitatingly  give  an  unqualified  negative  to 
the  whole,  may  indeed  be  justified  in  ridiculing  the  simplicity 
of  the  German  miner,  who  works  his  mines  although  they 
yield  him  no  great  dividends ;  or  in  asserting  that  there  are 
no  advantages  resulting  to  the  country  from  the  working  of 
these  mines :  but  until  lie  can  satisfy  us  that  he  has  fairly 
examined  the  subject,  and  that  he  is  fully  qualified  to  decide 
the  question,  we  may  be  justified  in  drawing  a  different  con- 
clusion, and  tax  him  with  indiscretion  and  levity,  while  we 
admire  the  industry  and  wisdom  of  the  German  nation. 

Mines  of  the  Netherlands.  The  kingdom  of  the  Nether- 
lands is  divided  into  two  parts,  one  of  which  contains  no 
mines  whatsoever,  while  the  other  is  very  well  supplied  in 
this  respect.  Holland,  or  the  old  Seven  Provinces,  is  a  coun- 
try which  affords  not  the  slightest  interest  to  the  miner; 
while  Belgium  may  well  deserve  his  particular  attention. 

The  principal  mineral  wealth  of  Belgium  lies  in  its  coal 
mines,  which  form  a  continuation  of  those  which  we  indicat- 
ed as  existing  at  Valenciennes,  in  France ;  but  as  they  run 
over  a  much  larger  country  here,  so  are  they  much  more 
important  and  extensive.  The  principal  centres  of  the  coal 
mines  are  at  Lieges  and  at  Mons.  They  are  worked  with 
great  talent  and  economy  ;  but  the  difficulties  are  numerous. 
These  works  having  been  commenced  at  a  very  remote  pe- 
riod, when  the  art  of  mining  was  in  its  infancy,  the  first  ex- 
cavations were  made  in  opposition  to  the  best  methods  now  in 
use.  Large  vacant  chambers  were  left,  without  any  precau- 
tion being  taken,  not  even  a  correct  survey  of  them  being 
made.  These  wastes,  in  the  course  of  time,  have  become 
filled  with  water  or  foul  air ;  and,  as  their  situation  is  not 


THE    ART   OF    MINING.  59 

well  ascertained,  the  miners  of  Liege  are  obliged  to  keep  a 
good  look-out  for  them ;  for  if  they  were  unexpectedly  to 
meet  one  of  these  excavations,  there  is  reason  to  fear,  that 
in  many  cases  the  division  of  miners  thus  surprised  would 
either  be  drowned  by  the  immense  volume  of  waters  which 
would  rush  out  upon  them,  or  be  choked  by  the  no  less  rapid 
stream  of  foul  air.  There  are  many  instances  on  record,  in 
which  whole  parties  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  even  more  miners 
have  found  their  doom,  in  a  space  of  time  too  short  to  allow 
of  any  relief  or  assistance  being  given  them.  The  usual 
method  of  looking  out  for  these  chambers,  is  by  boring  hori- 
zontally in  various  directions,  as  the  miner  progresses  in  his 
work.  Some  of  <he  coal  mines  of  Belgium  are  as  dangerous, 
on  account  of  the  foul  air,  as  the  celebrated  mines  of  White- 
haven,  in  England  ;  but  we  believe  that  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  Sir  II.  Davy's  safety  lamp,  only  one  accident  has 
taken  place,  and  that  through  the  carelessness  of  a  workman, 
who  opened  his  lamp  in  the  midst  of  the  foul  atmosphere, 
notwithstanding  the  strict  orders  he  had  received  to  the  con- 
trary. If  the  province  of  Belgium  were  as  well  provided 
with  canals  as  her  sister  state  Holland,  those  mines  would 
receive  additional  importance ;  but  notwithstanding  that  the 
country  is  level,  the  carriage  of  coal  is  very  expensive,  on 
account  of  its  bulk ;  so  much  so,  that  in  Antwerp,  English 
coal  from  Newcastle  can  be  sold,  and  is  actually  selling, 
cheaper  than  the  coal  of  Belgium. 

Next  to  the  coal  mines  in  importance  are  the  mines  of  zinc 
at  Limburgh,  not  far  from  Aix-la-Chapelle.  This  is  the 
richest  deposit  of  calamine  known  to  exist  any  where.  The 
works  have  been  carried  on  without  any  great  regularity  f 
yet  they  promise  to  last  much  longer.  The  zinc  is  reduced 
to  the  metallic  state  at  Liege ;  but  the  greatest  part  of  the 
calamine  is  carried  off  in  its  original  state,  having  been 
merely  picked  and  roasted :  it  is  thus  transported  to  other 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  where  it  is  converted  into  brass,  and 
a  great  proportion  is  exported  for  that  purpose.  The  brass 
is  made  in  Belgium  by  smelting  the  copper  with  the  calamine 
and  coal  in  a  crucible.  It  is  of  a  very  superior  quality.  We 


60  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

have  seen  some  of  these  brass  works  in  Namur,  where  the 
business  is  carried  on,  on  a  large  scale,  and  in  a  very  pro- 
fitable manner.  The  iron  works  of  Belgium  likewise  deserve 
to  be  mentioned.  They  are  situated  on  the  Meuse,  near 
Namur.  Their  ore  is  the  bog  iron  ore ;  their  fuel,  charcoal. 
Their  castings  are  very  good.  It  is  probable  that  coak 
might  be  used  here  with  advantage  and  with  great  economy. 
The  building  stone  which  they  use  for  their  furnaces  is  re- 
markably good  :  we  saw  a  furnace  there  which  had  been  in 
operation  for  nearly  three  years  without  interruption,  and  it 
appeared  by  no  means  to  be  injured,  nor  to  need  any  repair. 

Besides  these,  there  is  in  Belgium  a  valuable  lead  mine, 
at  Vedrin,  near  Namur.  We  believe  it  contains  no  silver 
whatever,  although  we  find  it  stated  by  a  highly  respectable 
author,*  that  it  yields  annually  seven  hundred  marks  weight 
of  this  metal ;  but  we  apprehend  there  is  an  error  on  this 
subject.  This  lead  mine  has  been  considerably  improved  of 
late,  both  in  the  dressing  and  smelting  of  ores,  also  in  the 
machines  to  drain  the  water.  A  pressing  machine,  on  the 
most  approved  plan,  has  been  introduced  into  the  mine.  The 
fall  of  water  is  about  three  hundred  feet.  In  the  dressing 
of  the  ores,  they  have  substituted  for  the  old  system  the 
shaking  tables,  which  are  very  advantageous ;  and,  finally, 
in  the  smelting  of  the  ore,  they  have  abandoned  the  old  form 
of  the  furnaces,  and  have  substituted  the  reverberatory.  AH 
these  improvements  have  been  made  by  a  single  man,  M. 
Bouesnel,  director  of  the  mine,  late  French  engineer  of 
mines,  and  now  an  engineer  of  the  Waterstaat,  in  the  service 
of  the  king  of  the  Netherlands :  they  are  very  creditable  to 
him. 

Mines  of  Great  Britain.  We  now  proceed  to  treat  of  the 
mines  of  Great  Britain,  a  country  more  interesting  to  us 
than  any  other,  on  account  of  the  great  analogy  between  our 
manners,  laws,  and  institutions,  and  those  of  the  mother 
country.  Whatever  may  be  the  views  or  the  object  of  the 
traveller  in  Great  Britain,  he  will  always  find  himself  well 

*  M.  De  Bounard — Dictionnairt  des  Sciences  Xaturelles,  article  Mine. 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  61 

rewarded  for  his  trouble.  He  will  always  find  much  to  ad- 
mire, much  indeed  which  he  would  look  for  in  vain  in  any 
other  country.  This  remark,  which  we  believe  to  be  appli- 
cable in  general  cases,  is  peculiarly  so  in  mining.  In  no 
country  are  the  mines  as  flourishing,  as  important,  and  as 
productive,  as  they  are  in  Great  Britain.  Distinguished  as 
the  British  nation  is,  for  that  peculiar  talent  which  they  pos- 
sess to  so  eminent  a  degree,  of  inventing  and  improving  up- 
on every  thing,  and  gifted  as  they  have  been  by  nature,  with 
a  remarkably  great  share  of  public  spirit,  much  greater  than 
that  of  their  European  neighbours,  it  was  impossible  that 
mining  should  not  meet  with  encouragement  among  them, 
and,  if  once  encouraged,  it  was  a  necessary  consequence, 
that  in  their  hands  it  should  rise  to  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection. 

When  we  consider  the  nature  of  their  mines,  their  anti- 
quity, the  difficulties  which  they  had  to  encounter,  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  overcame  them,  the  great  improvements 
which  they  have  made  in  the  machines  of  mines,  and  in  the 
metallurgical  operations,  we  are  justified  in  asserting,  that 
the  British  nation  is  certainly  that  in  which  the  art  of  mining 
is  at  present  the  most  flourishing.  It  is  true,  to  them  nature 
has  been  most  bountifully  liberal.  No  country  that  we  know 
of  is  possessed  of  such  rich  and  extensive  deposits  of  coal 
as  the  north  of  England.  Nowhere  has  the  best  quality  of 
iron  ore  been  more  universally  spread  over  a  country  than 
over  England.  Nowhere  have  tin  and  copper  been  found  in 
such  abundance  as  in  Cornwall,  where  they  have  been  work- 
ed for  so  long  a  time  that  many  authors  are  inclined  to  be- 
lieve Cornwall  to  have  been  the  celebrated  Cassiterides 
islands,  whence  the  Phenicians  are  said  to  have  procured 
their  tin.  Scotland  is  no  less  distinguished  for  her  mines 
than  England.  With  coal  the  Scotch  are  abundantly  sup- 
plied ;  and  it  is  of  so  excellent  a  quality,  that  we  have  heard 
them  assert,  (with  what  truth  we  know  not,)  that  their  coal 
was  preferred  to  the  best  Newcastle  coal,  in  the  London 
drawing  rooms.  Their  coal  mines  exist  in  all  the  south  of 
Scotland,  and  cover  an  extensive  tract  of  land  in  the  neigh- 


62  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

bourhood  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  extending  from  the 
Frith  of  Forth  to  the  Clyde;  also  in  Fifrshire,  &c.  Scotland 
likewise  boasts  of  her  iron  works,  and  this  with  justice.  The 
largest,  and  most  profitable  in  the  world,  are  the  celebrated 
Carron  works  of  Scotland,  which  exist  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Stirling.  These  works  are  on  a  scale  which  far  exceeds 
any  thing  of  the  kind  even  in  England.  Their  ore  is  the 
clay  iron  stone;  their  fuel,  coak.  The  quality  of  their  cast- 
ings is  such  as  to  justify  the  high  reputation  which  these 
works  have  acquired.  The  whole  establishment  belongs  to 
a  company,  and  is  said  to  yield  a  very  great  profit;  the 
amount  of  which  we  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

Besides  these  works,  there  are  other  iron  works  of  con- 
siderable importance  in  Scotland,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Glasgow. 

For  lead,  Scotland  has  long  been  celebrated.  The  mines 
of  Leadhill,  Wanlockhead,  and  Strontian,  are  the  only  ones 
now  worked.  The  mine  of  Leadhill  is  situated  near  San- 
quhar,  in  Lanerkshire  ;  it  is  remarkable  for  its  interesting 
geological  characters.  It  is  worked  with  great  activity  and 
success.  There  is  no  silver,  at  least  none  worth  extracting. 
A  circumstance  which  we  observed  here,  and  nowhere  else, 
but  which  we  deem  very  interesting,  is  the  successful  use 
of  peat,  in  large  proportions  with  coal,  for  the  smelting  of 
the  ore.  This  fuel  appears  to  answer  very  well,  and  is  very 
economical.* 

•  The  mines  of  Leadhill  possess  an  institution  well  worthy  of  being  in- 
troduced into  other  mining  districts ;  we  allude  to  a  library  for  the  use  of 
miners.  This  institution,  formed  on  the  same  plan  as  the  Apprentice's  Li- 
brary in  this  and  other  cities,  is  calculated  to  spread  instruction  among  the 
lowest  classes  of  miners.  It  contains  many  excellent  works  on  the  art  of 
mining,  besides  a  large  stock  of  works  of  standard  merit  on  religious,  mo- 
ral, and  miscellaneous  subjects.  This  cheap  method  of  conveying  informa- 
tion is  peculiarly  desirable  for  this  class  of  the  community.  The  hard  and 
laborious  operations  of  the  miner  take  up  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  hours 
of  the  day;  the  remaining  hours  are  too  often  given  up  to  dissipation  or  idle- 
ness. The  nature  of  the  country  where  mines  are  situated,  generally  shuts 
them  out  from  the  usual  intercourse  with  strangers.  It  is,  therefore,  to  such 
a  class  of  men  that  a  library  containing  a  good  choice  of  books  on  religious 
and  moral  subjects,  together  with  the  best  works  on  their  art,  must  be  real- 


THE    ART  OF  MINING.  63 

Wanlockhead  is  in  Dumfriesshire,  about  a  mile  to  the 
•south-west  of  Leadhill.  The  works  are  not  so  considerable, 
but  this  mine  is  like  that  of  Leadhill,  remarkable  for  the  ex- 
tent of  the  vein,  and  the  richness  of  the  ore. 

The  works  at  Strontian,  in  Argyleshire,  are  not  so  pro- 
ductive. They  have  been  abandoned  and  resumed  several 
times.  Within  a  short  time  past,  they  have  jbeeii,  we  think, 
resumed  by  a  party  of  Cumberland  miners,  who  expect  to  be 
well  rewarded  for  their  trouble. 

These  are,  we  believe,  the  only  mines  worked  at  present 
in  Scotland  $  but  great  hopes  are  entertained  of  a  recent  dis- 
covery of  copper  ore,  in  Ayrshire ;  and  attempts  to  work  it 
have  already  been  commenced  there. 

England  is  much  richer  in  mines  than  the  sister  king- 
dom ;  for  almost  every  metal  is  worked  there.  It  is  true,  the 
English  have  found  neither  gold  nor  silver  ores ;  but  they 
afford  us  a  convincing  proof,  if  any  were  required,  that  it  is 
more  profitable  and  more  advantageous  for  a  nation  to  pro- 
cure these  metals  by  exchange  for  other  more  necessary  ar- 
ticles, such  as  iron,  copper,  coal,  &c.  than  to  work  them 
herself. 

The  mines  of  England  are  so  well  known  to  every  person 
in  this  country,  who  has  felt  the  least  interest  for  this  sub- 
ject, that  it  cannot  be  necessary  for  us  to  say  much  on 
this  topic ;  and  we  feel  the  more  diffident  in  speaking  of 
them,  as  the  shortness  of  our  stay  in  England  has  not  per- 
mitted us  to  visit  one  of  the  most  important  districts,  that  of 
Cornwall.  We  shall,  therefbre,  dwell  principally  upon  the 
mines  of  the  north  of  England,  which  we  have  seen,  and  so- 
licit the  particular  indulgence  of  the  reader  for  the  very  few 
remarks  we  may  venture  to  make  upon  those  of  the  south- 
west. 

The  north  of  England  contains,  undoubtedly,  one  of  the 
most  valuable  deposits  of  coal  known  to  exist  any  where. 
The  mines  of  Newcastle  are  proverbial.  They  are  situated 

ly  valuable.  We  do  not  recollect  having  seen  a  similar  institution  in  any 
other  mining  district,  but  we  believe  that  it  exists  also  in  Cornwall;  at  any 
rate,  the  example  is  a  good  one,  and  will,  we  hope,  meet  with  imitators. 


64  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

in  the  valley  of  the  Tyne,  and  extend  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  for  many  miies.  They  are  worked  to  a  variable  depth; 
we  believe  it  has  never  exceeded  two  hundred  fathoms.  The 
subterraneous  excavations  are  very  extensive.  There  are 
some  very  large  chambers  for  the  reception  of  machinery. 
In  the  mine  of  Killingworth,  we  saw  no  less  than  three 
very  large  steam-engines,  placed  several  hundred  feet  un- 
der ground,  and  the  effect  of  which  may  probably  exceed 
that  of  any  three  machines  used  in  other  mines. 

It  was  in  the  coal  mines  of  Newcastle  that  the  safety  lamp 
was  first  introduced ;  it  has  put  a  stop  to  the  numerous  ac- 
cidents which  formerly  occurred  there.  The  honour  of  the 
discovery  of  a  lamp,  upon  a  similar  principle  as  Sir  Hum- 
phry Davy's,  though  not  on  so  improved  a  system,  has  been 
claimed  by  one  of  the  best  mining  engineers  of  Newcastle, 
Mr.  Stevenson,  who  conducts,  with  great  ability,  the  works 
of  Killingworth.  But  we  believe  there  is  at  present  no  doubt 
that  Sir  Humphry  has  the  full  merit  of  the  priority  of  dis- 
covery, as  well  as  of  the  superiority  of  his  lamp.  A  very  in- 
genious method  of  preventing  the  evil  effects  of  part  of  the 
inflammable  gases,  and  one  which  we  have  seen  practised 
with  success  at  Newcastle,  is  to  use  this  gas  in  lighting  the 
mines,  in  the  same  manner  as  artificial  gas  lights  are  now 
used  in  most  of  the  large  cities  in  Great  Britain.  The  usual 
method  of  ventilating  their  mines,  is  by  constructing  a  large 
furnace  at  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  pits ;  a  large  fire  is  kept 
up  in  the  furnace,  which  draws  out  all  the  impure  air  from 
the  mine,  while  fresh  air  rushft  in  by  another  pit  to  supply 
its  place.  The  draught  kept  up  in  this  manner  answers  all 
purposes,  and  the  air  in  the  mines  is,  for  the  most  part,  very 
pure  and  wholesome.  One  of  the  most  interesting  applica- 
tions of  the  steam  power  which  we  saw  there,  was  the  steam 
wagon  or  locomotive  engine.  It  is  a  curious  thing  to  see  ten 
or  a  dozen  of  wagons  moving  on  a  high  road,  without  being 
drawn  by  horses  or  any  other  visible  agent.  The  steam  en- 
gine is  placed  in  the  first  wagon  and  sets  it  in  motion,  all 
the  others  are  fastened  to  it  and  drawn  along  by  it.  This 
invention  does  not,  however*  appear  to  have  met  with  much 


THE    ART    OF   MINING.  65 

encouragement.  We  believe  it  has  been  abandoned  in  almost 
every  place  where  it  was  tried. 

The  yearly  produce  of  the  mines  of  Newcastle  is  immense. 
It  is  estimated  by  Mr.  Winch,1*  at  upwards  of  three  millions 
of  tons.  Coal  is  worth,  at  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  from  seven- 
teen to  twenty  shillings  sterling  a  ton. 

We  cannot  conclude  our  remarks  on  the  mines  of  New- 
castle, without  making  particular  mention  of  the  name  of 
Mr.  Buddie,  civil  engineer  and  viewer  of  Wallsend  colliery, 
Newcastle.  To  this  gentleman,  not  only  the  collier,  but  the 
miner  in  general,  owes  many  of  the  most  valuable  improve- 
ments which  the  art  of  mining  has  made  in  England.  To 
him  are  we  indebted  for  the  method  of  working  coal  mines 
called  the  pannel  working) — for  the  introduction  of  iron  cy- 
linders in  the  tubbing  of  pits, — for  various  improvements  in 
the  ventilation  of  mines,  &c. ; — also,  for  his  very  active  and 
humane  efforts  to  bring  the  safety  lamp  into  general  use,  &c. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  coal  mines  of  Newcastle,  are 
those  of  Whitehaven,  on  the  west  coast.  They  are  worked 
upon  the  same  system,  but  extend  to  a  greater  depth.  Ac- 
cidents were  more  frequent  in  these  mines  tban  in  those  on 
the  Tyne,  owing  to  a  greater  abundance  of  foul  air;  but 
the  safety  lamp  has  answered  here  as  well  as  in  the  other 
mines. 

The  third  coal  field  in  importance  in  England,  is  that  of 
Newcastle-under-Line,  which  extends  over  a  considerable 
portion  of  Staffordshire.  To  this  coal  field  the  manufac- 
turers of  Birmingham  and-  Manchester  owe  their  flourish- 
ing condition.  The  great  canal  of  England  passes  through 
it,  and  facilitates  the  transportation  of  the  coal. 

A  fourth  coal  field  exists  in  Glamorganshire,  near  Swan- 
sea, where  a  great  proportion  of  the  copper  ore  of  Cornwall 
is  sent  to  be  smelted. 

Many  of  the  finest  iron  works  of  Great  Britain  are  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  coal  mines;  thus  we  have  the  iron 
works  near  Wolverhampton,  those  of  Colebrookdale,  in 

*  Geological  Transactions,  Vol.  IV. 


66  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

Shropshire,  second  only  to  the  Carron  works ;  those  of  Mer- 
thyr  Tydvil,  of  Lemmington-on-the-Tyne,  and  many  others 
of  great  importance.  Iron  is  the  metal  which  England  yields 
most  abundantly,  and  in  which  she  principally  excels ;  to  the 
quantity  and  superior  quality  of  her  iron  castings,  are  to  be 
attributed  many  of  the  improvements  which  the  arts  (espe- 
cially the  mechanical)  have  made  in  that  country. 

One  of  the  greatest  causes  of  the  success  of  the  iron  works 
in  England,  is  the  use  of  the  coak  instead  of  the  charcoal ; 
the  ore  in  common  use  is  the  clay  iron  stone,  found  in  the 
coal  mines  or  in  their  vicinity ;  so  that  the  ore  and  the  fuel 
are  found  almost  in  immediate  contact ;  the  carriage  to  the 
furnace  is  therefore  but  a  trifling  expense  here,  while  it  is 
a  very  considerable  one  in  many  other  places.  The  clay 
iron  stone  is  a  very  valuable  ore,  on  account  of  the  excellent 
quality  of  the  castings  which  it  produces ;  it  appears  that 
the  most  difficult  operation,  and  that  which  requires  most 
care,  is  the  coaking  of  the  coal  and  the  proper  selection  of  it. 

The  blast  furnaces  which  are  used  in  England  are  very 
high,  they  vary  from  forty  to  sixty,  and  even  seventy  feet  in 
height. 

In  the  art  of  refining  the  pigs,  to  make  pure  iron,  the  Eng- 
lish have  not  been  so  successful ;  this  is  probably  owing  to 
the  nature  of  their  ores,  or  that  of  the  fuel  used ;  the  fact, 
however,  is  well  ascertained,  that  while  the  English  castings 
surpass  all  others,  the  best  iron  used  in  England,  and  the 
only  one  used  in  the  making  of  good  steel,  is  imported  from 
Sweden  and  Russia.  AVith  lead  ores  the  English  are  like- 
wise well  provided  ;  the  principal  mines  are  those  of  Derby- 
shire, near  the  Peak,  and  in  Kingsfield.  They  have  been  work- 
ed for  many  centuries,  and  are  now  in  great  measure  ex- 
hausted ;  they  are  found  in  the  limestone,  and  some  of  them 
present  very  interesting  geological  facts. 

The  mines  of  the  north  of  England  are  in  a  more  flourish- 
ing condition,  and  constitute  undoubtedly  one  of  the  richest 
deposits  of  lead  known;  they  are  situated  at  the  junction  of 
the  three  counties  of  Cumberland,  Northumberland,  and 
Durham  $  there  are  three  centres  of  mines,  viz.  Alstone,  Al- 


THE    ART    OF   MINING.  67 

lonheads,  and  Weardale  Chapel ;  a  great  part  of  this  pro- 
perty formerly  belonged  to  the  celebrated  and  unfortunate 
Earl  of  Derwentwater,  who  suffered  on  the  scaffold,  for  his 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  the  Stuarts.  In  punishing  this 
nobleman  for  his  share  in  the  rebellion  of  '45,  the  govern- 
ment was  actuated  more  by  the  desire  of  acquiring  his  large 
estate,  than  by  a  wish  to  put  a  stop  to  the  increasing  discon- 
tents. After  having  kept  possession  of  these  mines  for  some 
time,  the  government  bestowed  a  part  of  them  upon  the 
Greenwich  Hospital,  and  they  form  no  small  part  of  the  re- 
venues of  that  institution.  The  most  interesting  and  most 
profitable  mines  are,  however,  those  of  Allon heads,  belong- 
ing to  colonel  Beaumont,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the 
kingdom ;  his  mines  alone  are  said  to  support  a  population 
of  from  seven  to  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  These  mines 
are  of  pure  galena,  containing  silver  enough  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  separating  it.  The  principle  upon  which  the  me- 
thod of  extracting  the  silver  is  founded,  is  the  same  as  in 
Germany,  but  the  furnace  used,  and  the  manner  of  conduct- 
ing the  operation,  are  very  different ;  we  do  not  know  which 
is  the  more  economical  of  the  two  ;  it  would  be  an  interest- 
ing metallurgical  problem  to  solve.  The  mines  of  this  part 
of  England  are  celebrated  for  the  richness  and  abundance 
of  their  ores,  for  the  talent  with  which  the  works  are  con- 
ducted, for  the  perfection  of  their  metallurgical  operations, 
for  the  economy  with  which  they  are  directed,  and  for  the 
profit  which  they  yield. 

The  mines  of  AI lonheads,  Alstone  Moor,  and  Weardale,  are 
like  those  of  Derbyshire,  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  the  fluor 
spar  which  they  yield ;  we  believe  the  green  variety  from  Wear- 
dale,  exceeds  in  beauty  any  thing  of  the  kind  which  we  have 
ever  seen.  At  the  mines  of  Coalcleugh,  but  a  few  miles  from 
Alstone,  there  is  a  very  interesting  machine,  called  a  pressing 
machine;  it  is  the  only  one  which  exists  in  the  mines  of  Eng- 
land. These  machines  are  of  Hungarian  invention,  and  are 
very  applicable  in  mines  where  great  falls  of  water  can  be  ea- 
sily obtained,  but  where  the  volume  of  water  is  often  small. 
The  principal  copper  mines  are  in  Cornwall,  and  in  the  isl- 


68  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

and  of  Anglesea.  Those  of  Cornwall  are  probably  tbe  most 
considerable  in  the  world ;  they  are  situated  near  Redruth, 
extend  to  a  very  great  depth,  employ  upwards  of  fifty  steam- 
engines,  and  support  a  population  which  exceeds  nine  thou- 
sand inhabitants. 

Tivise  of  Anglesea  are  in  the  mountain  of  Parys,  require 
but  little  or  no  subterraneous  digging,  and  are  very  easily 
worked ;  the  ores  are  sent  to  Swansea  to  be  smelted.* 

Tin  is  found  in  England,  in  the  dutchy  of  Cornwall,  and 
in  Devonshire,  but  principally  in  the  former ;  these  are  the 
most  valuable  tin  mines  in  Europe,  and  probably  in  the 
world ;  the  best  are  those  near  Penzance  and  St.  Just.  The 
annual  produce  is  about  18,000  blocks  of  360  pounds  weight 
each,  which  exceeds  300,000/.  sterling  in  value  ;  this  product 
is  about  thirty  times  greater  than  that  of  the  tin  mines  of 
Saxony. 

England  is  not  deficient  in  zinc.  The  best  mines  of  calamine 
are  found  in  Derbyshire,  Cheshire,  and  Wales. 

The  salt  mines  of  Norwich  in  Cheshire  are  remarkably 
rich,  and  their  produce  exceeds  that  of  the  mines  of  Wie- 
liczka. 

Mines  of  Ireland.  Ireland  is  far  behind  her  sister  king- 
doms in  mineral  wealth,  or  at  least  the  wealth,  if  it  exists, 
has  not  been  taken  advantage  of  there,  as  it  has  been  in  Eng- 
land and  Scotland ;  the  same  causes  which  have  retarded  the 
prosperity  of  Ireland  in  every  other  respect,  have  done  it  also 
in  mining.  It  would  be  labour  lost  to  endeavour  to  find  out 
a  particular  cause  for  every  evil,  when  an  universal  one  ex- 
ists in  the  intolerant  bigotry,  and  jealous  oppression,  which 
the  English  government  has  extended  over  this  unfortunate 
island ;  let  us  hope  that  these  causes  are  now  about  to  disap- 

*  From  Thompson's  Annals  of  Philosophy,  (New  Series,  No.  5,  May, 
1821,)  it  appears  that  the  quantity  of  copper  raised  in  England  and  Ireland, 
in  one  year,  ending  June,  1820,  amounted  to  upwards  of  8700  tons,  which, 
at  an  average  price  of  120/.  sterling  per  ton,  makes  the  produce  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  in  copper  alone,  equal  to  1,044,000/.,  or  upwards  of 
§  4,635,000. 

The  mines  of  Cornwall  alone  produced  upwards  of  6915  tons,  the  rest 
was  supplied  by  Anglesea,  Devon,  Ecton,  and  Ireland, 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  69 

pear.  This  year  is  the  twentieth  since  the  union  of  the 
three  kingdoms,  and  according  to  the  treaty  of  union,  Ire- 
land was  to  share,  at  the  expiration  of  that  term,  all  the  pri- 
vileges of  the  other  two  states.  By  the  destruction  of  the 
barriers  which  checked  her  commerce,  she  will,  we  trust,  he 
enabled  to  assume  that  rank  in  the  British  empire,  to  which 
she  had  long  since  been  entitled,  and  of  which  nothing  but 
the  barbarous  and  unjust  policy  of  England  could  have  de- 
prived her. 

We  have  now  given  a  short  sketch  of  the  state  of  mining 
in  the  principal  parts  of  Europe ;  we  have  said  little  or  no- 
thing of  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  Denmark,  and  Russia,  as 
they  offer  but  little  interest  to  the  miner :  Russia  is  celebrated 
for  her  iron,  but  this  is  produced  by  that  part  of  the  empire 
which  is  situated  in  Asia  5  the  principal  mines  are  in  the 
Uralian  mountains,  at  Blagodat  and  Keskamar,  where  the 
magnetic  iron  ore  is  worked  with  great  success. 

The  silver  mines  of  Zmeof  and  Kolivan,  in  the  Altaian 
mountains,  and  the  argentiferous  lead  mines  of  Nertchinsk 
in  Daouria  are  celebrated,  and  are  improving  every  day. 

We  have  visited  neither  Sweden  nor  Norway,  and  we  re- 
gret that  our  documents  respecting  the  state  of  mining  in 
those  states  are  too  loose  and  uncertain  to  allow  of  our  say- 
ing any  thing  of  them.  They  are  now  united  under  one  go- 
vernment, and  furnish  the  best  iron  and  copper  used  in  com- 
merce ;  the  produce  in  both  these  metals  is  considerable,  and 
iron  may  be  considered  as  a  staple  commodity  of  Sweden. 
The  silver  mines  of  Kongsberg  and  Sala  have  also  acquired 
a  great  degree  of  celebrity  :  from  the  little  we  know  of  these 
two  countries,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  art  of  mining 
is  no  where  better  attended  to. 

We  shall  close  these  observations  upon  the  actual  state  of 
mining  in  Europe,  with  a  few  remarks  on  the  comparative 
state  of  the  art  in  the  three  principal  kingdoms,  viz.  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany. 

From  what  we  have  said,  it  is,  we  think,  apparent,  that  the 
mines  of  France  are  as  yet  in  their  infancy.  They  bid  fair 
to  increase  rapidly  in  importance.  The  method  which  has 


70  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

been  followed,  of  uniting  theory  and  practice,  is  very  praise- 
worthy. We  believe  the  great  evil  which  the  French  have 
to  dread,  is  that  of  falling  too  much  into  theoretic  notions. 
They  require  that  stimulus  which  proceeds  in  other  countries 
from  public  spirit,  or  from  a  great  desire  of  attaining  wealth. 
If  possessed  of  either  of  these,  they  would,  we  believe,  give 
a  greater  scope  to  mining,  render  their  country  independent 
of  all  others,  and  benefit  themselves.  It  is  probable  that  the 
French  will  excel  in  the  metallurgical  arts,  which  are  found- 
ed upon  chemistry  and  much  assisted  by  docimasy.  In  me- 
chanics, they  will,  we  believe,  be  rather  behindhand,  at  least 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  slow  progress  which  the  steam 
power  has  made  in  France.  As  respects  their  academies  of 
mines,  we  are  fully  of  opinion  that  they  will  surpass  all 
others.  The  French  possess  the  art  of  teaching,  to  an  un- 
usual degree  of  excellence.  The  urbanity  and  attentions  of 
their  professors  create  among  the  students  an  enthusiasm  in 
favour  of  the  professor  and  of  the  science,  which  we  have  seen 
equalled  nowhere.  Besides  the  School  of  Mines  in  Paris, 
the  government  has  established  a  practical  school  of  mines, 
for  the  instruction  of  master-miners  and  foremen  in  mines. 
This  school,  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  coal  field  of  St. 
Etiemie,  will  contribute  much  to  the  advancement  of  the  art. 
The  liberality  of  the  French  government  deserves  not  only 
to  be  admired,  but  also  imitated,  by  other  governments,  es- 
pecially by  the  monarchical,  where  so  much  money  is  at  the 
disposal  of  the  sovereign,  who  seldom  employs  it  in  the  most 
judicious  manner. 

In  Germany,  the  art  of  mining  seems  to  have  arrived  at 
its  climax,  and  to  have  been  dormant  of  late ;  at  least,  the 
improvements  in  latter  days  have  not  been  great.  The  Ger- 
mans detest  all  ideas  of  change ;  but  at  the  same  time  that 
this  will  guard  them  against  dangerous  and  foolish  innova- 
tions, it  will  also  prevent  them  from  making  those  improve- 
ments which  the  nature  of  things  requires.  They  are  too 
apt  to  follow  an  old  routine.  This  is  particularly  the  case 
in  their  metallurgical  operations,  which  we  would  scarcely 
hesitate  in  saying,  are  far  behind  those  of  England.  This 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  71 

assertion  must  not,  however,  be  extended  to  the  iron  works 
of  Silesia,  which  are,  we  believe,  equal  to  any  in  the  world. 
In  mechanics,  the  Germans  are  far  superior  to  what  they  are 
generally  thought  to  be.  In  no  country,  perhaps,  has  the 
use  of  the  water  power  been  employed  with  so  much  advantage 
and  economy  as  it  has  been  in  Germany.  It  would  be  well  if 
the  steam-engines  were  more  generally  introduced,  at  least  in 
some  places,  where  fuel  is  cheap.  The  skilful  and  experienced 
gentleman  to  whom  is  at  present  intrusted  the  direction  of 
the  machinery  in  the  mines  of  Saxony,  is  as. well  calculated 
for  the  high  station  which  lie  occupies  as  any  man  we  know 
of;  and  under  his  care,  it  is  impossible  that  great  improve- 
ments should  not  be  made.*  The  Germans  are  a  slow,  per- 
severing, and  industrious  nation.  Hence,  they  are  not  so 
easily  disgusted  as  their  French  neighbours.  They  never 
commence  an  undertaking  hastily  or  rashly ;  but,  having 
once  undertaken  it,  they  never  reject  or  abandon  it  without 
having  given  it  a  fair  trial. 

One  of  the  greatest  encumbrances  in  the  mines  of  Germa- 
ny, particularly  in  those  of  Saxony,  is,  we  believe,  the  great 
number  of  officers  and  under  officers.  The  German  mines 
have  quite  a  host  of  directors  and  under-directors,  agents* 
inspectors,  supervisors,  &c.  besides  master-miners  and  fore- 
men in  abundance  5  in  a  word,  a  system  as  expensive  and  as 
unprofitable  as  Napoleon's  celebrated  Bureaucratic. 

One  thing,  in  which  the  Germans  excel  all  others,  is  the 
dressing  of  the  ores ;  probably,  also,  in  making  subterranean 
draughts.  The  mining  academies  in  Germany  are  those  of 
Freyberg  in  Saxony,  and  of  Schemnitz  in  Hungary.  Of 
the  former  we  have  already  spoken :  the  reputation  of  the 
latter  has  depreciated  considerably,  and  it  scarcely  deserves 
to  be  named. 

The  emperor  Alexander  has  lately  established  one  in  Po- 
land, which  requires  time  to  mature  it. 

*  Mr.  Brendel,  director-general  of  the  mining  machines  in  Saxony,  is  the 
first  engineer  who  introduced  steam-engines  in  the  coal  fields  of  that  country. 
He  is  now  engaged  in  constructing  pressing  engines  for  two  of  the  mines  in 
the  Erzgebirge.  He  is  a  worthy  successor  of  the  great  Mcnde. 


7£  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

Iri  England,  there  is  no  school  of  miners.  In  the  large 
cities,  there  are  professors  on  the  sciences  connected  with 
mining;  but  no  practical  information  can  be  derived  from 
them.  Hence,  the  only  means  which  the  English  have  of  im- 
proving themselves  in  mining,  is  to  visit  the  mines,  and  to 
work  in  them.  This  method  is  certainly  very  good  5  but  the 
English  directors  are  frequently  too  deficient  in  theory,  espe- 
cially as  the  literature  of  the  English  miner  is  very  limited, 
and  not  very  good.  The  nature  of  their  education  and  occupa- 
tions prevents  many  of  them  from  attending  to  the  study  of  the 
German  language,  which  every  miner  ought  to  acquire,  as  no 
language  offers  such  a  valuable  stock  of  books  on  this  subject. 

But  the  great  and  ardent  spirit  of  the  British  nation,  their 
inventive  power,  the  force  of  their  genius,  and  their  great 
turn  for  mechanics,  will  naturally  cause  them  to  excel  in 
mining,  as  in  every  other  art.  Their  mines  are,  it  is  true, 
too  irregularly  worked ;  but  they  are  worked  with  profit;  and 
that,  after  all,  must  he  considered  as  the  main  object.  No- 
where is  the  art  more  flourishing.  This  is  owing  to  the  active 
and  enterprising  character  of  the  English  miner,  who  has 
neither  the  levity  of  the  French  nor  the  heaviness  of  the 
German,  but  in  whom  we  find  a  happy  mixture  of  enterprise 
and  perseverance,  of  enthusiasm  in  undertaking,  and  skill 
in  accomplishing,  his  operations.  It  is  also  to  the  excellence 
of  his  laws,  and  to  the  freedom  which  he  enjoys,  that  he  i» 
indebted  for  a  portion  of  his  success.  Unfettered  by  an  in- 
terference, often  very  injudicious,  on  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment, he  is  left  to  regulate  his  works,  and  dispose  of  his  own 
capital,  according  to  his  better  judgment.  We  believe  every 
proficient  in  the  art  of  mining  will  be  struck  with  surprise 
and  pleasure,  on  first  beholding  the  regularity  and  symmetry 
of  the  German  mines ;  but  upon  closer  investigation,  he  will 
often  find  that  there  is  not,  in  many  cases,  that  fitness,  that 
economy  of  labour,  which  lie  might  wish  for.  Too  much  is 
sacrificed  to  the  desire  of  adhering  strictly  to  a  preconceived 
plan,  and  of  dividing  the  mines  into  regular  parallelograms, 
by  streets  and  lanes  at  right  angles,  £c.  In  the  English 
mines,  on  the  contrary,  we  mark  the  disorder  of  genius,  the 


THE   ART  OF  MINING.  73 

economy  with  which  the  works  are  directed,  and  the  great 
principle  which  pervades  the  whole,  that  mines  are  to  he 
worked  only  when  and  where  they  are  profitable. 


We  now  proceed  to  examine  what  advantages  might  ac- 
crue to  the  United  States  from  the  introduction  of  the  art  of 
mining,  what  obstacles  would  impede  the  progress  of  the 
miner,  and  how  he  is  to  overcome  them. 

We  have  stated  the  question  as  if  no  mines  were  worked 
in  the  United  States  at  present.  Lest  this  assertion  should 
excite  surprise,  we  hasten  to  explain.  Almost  all  the  metals 
have  been  found  in  the  United  States ;  but  no  works  have 
been,  we  believe,  undertaken  with  any  degree  of  attention, 
except  those  of  iron,  lead,  and  coal.  We  do  not  believe  cop- 
per has  ever  been  smelted.  Some  attempts  made  in  New 
Jersey,  several  years  ago,  from  some  cause  or  other  proved 
unsuccessful.  In  Maryland,  where  a  great  quantity  of  cop- 
per ore  exists,  none  has  as  yet  been  smelted. 

Iron  has,  it  is  true,  heen  much  attended  to ;  and  the  efforts 
of  many  of  those  who  undertook  this  hranch  with  skill  and 
prudence,  have  met  with  the  most  complete  success.  The 
quality  of  part  of  our  iron  is  said  to  excel  that  of  any  im- 
ported, even  the  Russian  and  Swedish.  Several  of  the  works 
are  upon  the  largest  scale,  and  would,  we  are  told,  do  honour 
to  England  herself.  Not  having  as  yet  visited  any  of  them, 
we  shall  refrain  from  any  remark  upon  the  method  used ;  but 
from  common  report,  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  it  differs 
but  little  from  that  followed  in  Europe.  However  large  some 
of  our  works  may  be,  and  however  numerous  they  may  ap- 
pear, it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  the  quantity  of  pig  and  bar 
iron  imported  annually  is  very  considerable. 

The  ores  generally,  or  perhaps  almost  universally,  used  in 
the  United  States,  are  the  bog  iron  ore,  (fer  oxide  hydrate 
of  Haiiy.)  We  know  of  some  attempts  which  were  made  in 
Pennsylvania  to  smelt  the  clay  iron  stone,  (for  carbonate  dts 
HouillereSyJ  but  we  believe  that  they  have  hitherto  been  im- 
10 


74  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

successful.  We  have  likewise  heard  of  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  work  the  magnetic  iron  ore. 

As  to  the  specular  and  sparry  iron  ores,  although  they 
have  been  found  in  the  United  States,  we  have  not  heard  of 
their  being  worked ;  nor  are  we  certain  that  any  very  large 
quantities  of  them  have  been  found. 

When  we  recollect  that  the  great  superiority  of  the  Eng- 
lish castings  is  due  to  their  improved  method  of  working  the 
clay  iron  stone,  that  the  finest  iron  known  is  extracted  from 
the  magnetic  ores  of  Sweden,  that  the  German  steel  is  pro- 
duced by  the  sparry  iron  ore,  and  that  the  Elbese  iron,  whose 
reputation  is  so  great,  is  obtained  from  the  specular  iron  ore, 
we  will  remain  convinced  that  it  is  impossible  that  the  United 
States  should  not  equal  them  in  the  works  of  pig  and  bar 
iron,  and  of  steel,  as  soon  as  these  ores  shall  have  been 
worked  properly.  But  these  ores  are  not  found  in  any  con- 
siderable quantity  at  the  surface  :  they  require  subterraneous 
works,  and  probably  on  this  account  have  not  been  made 
the  objects  of  regular  establishments.  All  the  iron  furnaces 
consume  ores  which  are  found  at  the  surface,  with  little  or 
no  digging;  they  are  coarsely  pounded  and  washed,  and 
then  sent  to  the  furnace.  Hence  we  are  justified  in  saying, 
that  although  we  have  many  very  valuable  and  interesting 
iron  works,  we  have  as  yet  no  regular  iron  mines. 

There  exist,  in  like  manner,  in  the  United  States,  no  re- 
gular lead  mines.  The  works  on  the  Perkioming  creek, 
which  are  perhaps  the  deepest  and  best  concerted  in  the 
United  States,  have  not  yet  yielded  a  single  pound  of  metal- 
lic lead  for  commerce.  The  lead  mines  of  Missouri  are  rich 
and  abundant;  but,  from  Mr.  Schoolcraft's  description,  it  is 
evident  that  nothing  like  regular  mining  has  as  yet  been 
begun  there;  it  is  what  the  Germans  very  properly  term  a 
Raubwerk,  a  mere  pilfering  of  the  richest  spots,  without  any 
attempt  at  regularity  or  system. 

Our  salt  is  all  imported  from  foreign  countries,  or  extract- 
ed from  salt  springs :  we  have  as  yet  no  mines  of  rock  salt. 

Coal  appears  to  be  the  only  article  upon  which  something1 
like  mining  has  been  undertaken.  In  most  places,  it  is  mere- 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  75. 

% 

ly  taken  from  the  surface,  or  dug  from  the  foot  of  a  hill,  in 
the  manner  of  common  quarries;  but  it  appears,  that  in  some 
instances,  as  in  Virginia,  there  are  regular  pits  and  galle- 
ries, &c.  but  ail  on  a  small  scale. 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  the  gold  mines  of  North 
Carolina,  though  the  mining  works  are  very  inconsiderable. 

Upon  the  whole,  we  think  we  may  be  warranted  in  saying, 
that  there  are  as  yet  no  mines  in  activity  in  the  United 
States  ;  and  we  may  consider  the  undertaking  of  mines  on 
a  regular  system  as  a  new  branch  in  this  country. 

The  United  States  would  undoubtedly  derive  from  mining 
the  same  advantages  which  the  prosecution  of  it  affords  to 
other  nations.  It  would  tend  to  make  us  independent  of 
foreign  countries  for  the  most  indispensable  articles  of  com- 
merce ;  it  would  secure  to  us  an  abundance  of  metallic  sub- 
stances, at  a  cheaper  rate  than  that  for  which  they  could  be 
imported ;  and,  by  increasing  the  quantity  of  metals,  it  is 
evident  that  we  improve  our  arts  and  sciences,  and  make 
new  advances  in  civilization.  This  is  a  corollary  of  one  of 
the  first  propositions  which  we  stated  in  the  introduction. 
It  is  moreover  corroborated  by  the  instance  taken  from 
England.  Where,  might  we  ask,  have  the  arts  arrived  at 
the  highest  degree  of  improvement  ?  Where  have  they  been 
most  beneficially  applied  ?  What  country  equals  England  in 
the  comforts  as  well  as  the  necessities  of  life  ?  And  what,  let 
us  again  ask,  has  elevated  England  to  this  high  station  ?  Is 
it  not  the  prosperity  of  her  mines  ?  Is  it  not  the  abundance, 
excellent  quality,  and  reduced  price,  of  her  cast  iron  ?  Is  it 
not  the  invaluable  assistance  which  she  derives  from  her  coal? 
All  these  advantages  America  may  possess  as  soon  as  she 
pleases.  No  other  country,  on  so  slight  an  examination, 
has  yielded  such  a  rich  harvest  of  ores  to  the  mineralogist. 
If  we  confine  our  attention  to  our  own  state,  we  find,  in  al- 
most every  county  of  Pennsylvania,  rich  ores  of  iron.  It  is 
true,  that  as  yet  no  bituminous  coal  has  been  found  on  this 
side  of  the  Susquehanna,  but  we  have  no  positive  reason  to 
think  that  it  may  not  be  found ;  besides,  we  have  larger  de- 
posits of  the  anthracite  than  have  ever  been  met  with  in  any 


76  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

other  country  ;  we  see  it  already  coming  down  the  Delaware 
and  the  Schuylkill  in  ahundance ;  we  observe  that  it  obtains 
a  ready  market;  and,  when  experiments  shall  have  been  made 
with  care,  may  we  not  hope  to  see  it  rendered  useful  in  the 
metallurgical  arts,  perhaps  even  in  the  smelting  of  iron  ? 

Another  great  advantage  which  the  working  of  our  ores 
will  offer  in  many  remote  parts  of  the  country,  will  be,  the 
affording  a  market  for  the  immense  quantities  of  wood  which 
our  forests  produce,  and  which  are  now  allowed  to  grow  and 
decay,  without  any  interest  being  taken  in  improving  or  pre- 
serving them. 

Nothing  tends  more  to  increase  the  population  of  a  coun- 
try than  the  working  of  mines.  A  mine  may  really  be  said 
to  act  as  a  magnet ;  it  attracts  and  keeps  together  a  popula- 
tion, which  could  not,  without  it,  have  found  the  means  of 
supporting  itself  on  the  limited  spot  upon  which  it  has  settled. 

The  art  of  mining  has  likewise  a  good  tendency  to  pro- 
mote the  morals  and  happiness  of  those  concerned  in  it.  It 
teaches  men  the  necessity  of  mutual  confidence,  of  activity 
and  perseverance ;  it  shows  them  that  we  are  often  nearest 
to  the  object  of  our  wishes  when  we  think  ourselves  to  be 
most  remote  from  it,  and  when  nothing  but  a  little  perse- 
verance is  necessary  to  attain  it.  No  part  of  the  world  ex- 
hibits a  population  more  decent  and  orderly,  or  apparently 
happier,  than  the  mining  districts  of  Germany.  The  con- 
stant apprehension  of  the  danger  of  mines,  though  this  be 
more  imaginary  than  real,  habituates  the  soul  to  incessant 
reflection ;  and  the  sense  of  the  impotence  of  human  efforts 
entirely  to  avert  the  dangers  to  which  the  miner  is  exposed, 
naturally  disposes  him  to  turn  to  a  superior  Being,  in  whom 
alone  he  may  place  his  trust.  Never  have  we  heard  any 
thing  more  impressive  than  the  prayers  which  the  miners  of 
Freyberg  recite,  all  together,  previous  to  their  descending 
into  the  mines.  They  are  such,  that  when  once  heard,  the 
effect  will  long  remain  impressed  upon  the  mind. 

The  introduction  of  the  art  of  mining  into  the  United 
States,  will  doubtless  be  attended  with  some  inconvenience  ; 
and  difficulties  will  at  first  offer,  which  may,  however,  be 


THE   ART  OF   MINING.  <T 

counterbalanced  by  the  natural  advantages  which  our  coun- 
try enjoys,  and  which  will  disappear  if  the  miner  be  not  too 
easily  discouraged. 

In  order  to  ascertain  exactly  the  extent  of  these  difficul- 
ties, let  us  inquire  what  are  the  points  which  ought  princi- 
pally to  call  the  attention  of  the  miner,  and  how  each  may 
be  viewed  in  the  United  States. 

Previous  to  the  commencing  of  mining  operations,  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  miner  to  ascertain  exactly, 

J.  The  nature  and  abundance  of  the  ore. 

II.  The  nature  of  the  adjoining  rock. 

III.  The  price  of  labour,  and  the  facilities  to  procure 
workmen. 

IV.  The  nature  and  price  of  the  fuel  which  the  country 
affords,  and  the  facility  of  obtaining  it  from  a  distance. 

V.  The   price   of  timber,   building   materials,   gunpow- 
der, &c. 

VI.  The  facilities  for  exportation,  and  the  proximity  of  a 
market. 

VII.  The  laws  on  mining. 

A  few  remarks  upon  each  of  these  points  will  explain  the 
situation  of  the  American  miner,  compared  with  the  Euro- 
pean. 

I.  As  respects  the  nature  and  abundance  of  the  ore.  It  is 
evident  that  this  is  the  first  object  to  be  ascertained,  and  of 
the  greatest  importance,  since  upon  it  all  hopes  of  success 
rest.  It  is  likewise  evident,  that  the  rules  and  practice  of 
other  countries  will  apply  equally  well  to  our  own,  with  this 
exception,  that  we  will  require,  cceteris  paribus,  larger  masses 
and  purer  ores ; — because  our  country  being  as  yet  new  in 
mining,  it  would  be  inexpedient  for  us  to  attend  to  our  poor 
ore  while  we  neglect  the  richer ;  it  is  only  when  these  shall 
have  been  exhausted  that  the  others  will  be  worth  working; 
especially,  if  we  recollect  that  a  poor  ore  not  only  produces 
less  metal,  but  requires  a  much  greater  advance  of  money, 
and  a  more  expensive  treatment,  inasmuch  as  the  rock  is 
more  difficult  to  work  in  than  the  ore ;  and  also,  as  a  poor 
ore  requires  a  great  deal  of  washing  and  pounding,  and  that 


78  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

this  dressing  demands  the  construction  of  machines,  some- 
times rather  expensive;  and,  finally,  a  poor  ore  always  con- 
sumes more  fuel  than  a  rich  one.  But,  because  we  cannot 
work  ores  as  poor  as  some  of  those  worked  in  Europe,  it  does 
not  follow  that  we  must  neglect  all  that  are  not  so  rich  as 
their  richest  ores.  Thus,  though  we  could  not  work  the  cop- 
per pyrites  of  St.  Bell,  which  yield  but  from  3  to  5  per  cent, 
we  may,  perhaps,  work  ores  that  yield  10  per  cent,  or  even 
less ;  and  we  must  not  reject  them  on  the  ground  that  some 
of  the  Cornish  copper  ores  have  yielded  80  per  cent.  It  is 
probable  that  we  could  not  work  ores  as  poor  as  the  silver 
and  tin  mines  of  Saxony  afford,  or  as  the  gold  mines  of 
Hungary,  because  the  expense  of  dressing  the  ore  might  per- 
haps exceed  the  value  of  the  metal  contained  in  it ;  neither 
could  we  work  beds  of  so  small  a  thickness  as  the  cuprifer- 
ous beds  of  the  Mansfeld,  for  the  quantity  of  ore  yielded 
would  not  repay  the  expense  of  the  excavation  made  to  ob- 
tain it.* 

II.  Nature  of  the  rock.  This  is  also  an  object  of  great 
interest  to  the  miner,  on  account  of  the  many  excavations 
which  he  has  to  make  in  it,  and  also  on  account  of  its  proxi- 
mity to  the  vein.  Should  it,  for  instance,  be  very  tough  and 
solid,  his  works  will  be  costly,  and  of  difficult  execution. 
Should  it,  on  the  other  hand,  be  loose  and  disaggregated,  it 
will  require  more  propping,  and  perhaps  affect  the  security 
of  the  mine.  The  same  observations  which  apply  to  the  mines 
of  Europe,  may  be  considered  as  applicable  to  ours ;  with 
this  exception,  however,  that  many  mines  which  are  situated 

*  The  price  of  labour  is  as  great,  and  oftentimes  greater,  to  work  a  vein 
of  three  inches,  than  one  of  three  feet.  This  will  be  evident,  if  we  reflect, 
that  veins  are  for  the  most  part  broken  up  by  cracks  and  fissures,  that  they 
present  a  number  of  druses  and  cavities,  and  are  often  more  or  less  disinte- 
grated, so  as  to  render  the  work  much  easier  than  in  the  adjoining  rock, 
which  is  often  compact.  In  the  abovcmentioned  case,  in  working  a  vein  of 
three  inches,  we  would  be  obliged  to  open  an  excavation,  the  greater  part 
of  which  would  be  in  the  adjoining  solid  rock,  while  the  vein  of  three  feet 
might  be  worked  without  breaking  into  the  rock.  In  this  case,  therefore, 
the  working  of  a  vein  of  three  feet  would  actually  be  attended  with  a  small- 
er advance  of  capital,  and  the  product  would  be  twelve  times  greater. 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  79 

in  a  very  tough  rock  are  very  expensive  to  work  by  blast- 
ing, atul  that  in  this  case  the  cheapness  and  abundance  of 
wood  in  the  United  States,  will  allow  us  to  apply  the  process 
of  torrefaction  in  many  instances  where  it  is  required,  but 
where  the  scarcity  of  fuel  will  not  allow  the  Europeans  to 
use  it.  Another  great  economy  may  be  found  in  the  wood 
to  prop  the  mines.  We  know,  for  instance,  that  all  the  wood 
used  for  that  purpose  in  the  coal  mines  of  Newcastle,  and 
probably  in  most  of  the  mines  of  England,  is  imported  into 
England  from  British  America.  It  is  evident  that  there  must 
be  a  great  saving  in  this  respect  in  this  country.* 

In  the  very  tough  or  very  loose  rocks,  the  miner  will,  per- 
haps, find  it  more  economical  for  him  to  work  in  the  United 
States  than  in  Europe  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  in  those  of  a 
moderate  solidity,  the  balance  of  economy  will  run  against 
us,  on  account  of  the  price  of  labour,  &c. 

III.  The  price  of  labour  is  also  an  object  of  primary  im- 
portance ;  and  this,  we  think,  will  be  the  principal  difficulty 
with  which  the  American  miner  will  have  to  contend. 

1.  The  men  will  be  difficult  to  procure. — 2.  They  will  be 
expensive. — 3.  They  will  be  difficult  to  retain. 

In  procuring  workmen,  the  difficulties  are  probably  not 
near  so  great  as  they  were  a  few  years  ago  ;  but  still,  the 
great  advantages  which  agriculture  offers  to  the  labouring 
class  of  the  community,  the  facility  with  which  they  may  be- 
come possessed  of  property,  will,  for  a  long  time,  prevent 
many  from  engaging  as  labourers  in  manufactures  or  mines. 

Again,  the  art  of  the  miner,  (of  the  common  labourer  in 
the  mine,) 'requires  experience.  There  is  a  great  choice  in 
miners,  and  it  seldom  happens  that  a  man  in  Europe  is  con- 
sidered as  a  workman  of  the  first  class,  until  he  has  served 
a  regular  apprenticeship  of  several  years  in  the  mines.  This 
is  particularly  true  of  smelters,  whose  trade  is  one  of  those 
in  which  experience  and  practice  are  most  necessary.  A 
careless  or  inexperienced  hand  will,  perhaps,  consume  twice 

*  If  we  are  not  mistaken,  the  expense  of  wood  from  America,  for  the  mines 
«f  Newcastle,  amounts  annually  to  upwards  of  150.000/.  sterling-. 


80  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

the  quantity  of  fuel,  or  yield  much  less  produce  than  a  skil- 
ful one.  In  the  common  operation  of  the  refining  of  lead,  in 
order  to  separate  the  silver  contained  in  it,  we  have  frequent- 
ly been  able  to  observe  the  great  difference  which  exists  be- 
tween the  produce  obtained  in  the  same  time  and  from  the  same 
quantity,  by  an  experienced  workman  or  by  an  apprentice. 

In  this  country  we  will  meet  with  but  few  men  who  may  be 
said  to  have  learnt  this  art  by  regular  apprenticeship,  and 
who  can  therefore  be  employed  with  advantage.  Those  few, 
conscious  of  their  own  importance,  will  be  very  expensive, 
and  difficult  to  be  kept  in  proper  discipline. 

It  has  often  been  suggested,  to  bring  over  workmen  from 
the  mining  districts  of  Europe ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  un- 
attended with  difficulty.  The  workmen  must  either  be  from 
England  or  Germany : — we  need  not  look  to  France  for  mi- 
ners. The  Germans  are  certainly  the  best  workmen  that 
could  be  brought  over.  Their  general  character,  for  pru- 
dence, moderation,  and  perseverance,  would  render  them 
more  manageable  than  any  other  class  of  Europeans.  One 
of  the  great  objections  to  the  bringing  over  of  foreigners  is, 
that  the  first  expense  is  considerable,  and  the  facilities  which 
they  find  in  breaking  their  contracts,  and  leaving  their  em- 
ployers, prevent  these  from  being  remunerated  for  their  ad- 
vance of  funds.  It  is  probably  very  true,  that  the  mildness 
of  our  laws,  the  vast  extent  of  our  country,  the  facilities  for 
travelling,  and  perhaps  also  too  imprudent  an  interference  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  charitable  societies,  (instituted  with 
the  best  of  motives,  by  foreigners,  for  the  protection  of  their 
countrymen  arriving  here,  and  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
them  with  money  and  advice,)  may  in  many  cases  prove  the 
source  of  real  injury  to  persons  importing  workmen  from 
Europe,  and  open  a  door  to  this  breach  of  faith.  This  evil 
is,  we  think,  however,  less  to  be  apprehended  on  the  part  of 
the  German,  than  of  any  other  emigrant.  The  well-known 
moral  rectitude  of  the  German  nation,  equal  to  that  of  any 
other,  the  natural  want  of  energy,  and  disinclination  to  roam 
about,  are,  we  think,  sufficient  pledges  in  the  hands  of  the 
employer,  that  few  or  none  of  the  workmen  whom  he  may 


THE   ART   OF   MINING.  81 

import  from  Germany  will  disappoint  him.  The  difference 
in  manners  and  language  is  another  gr,eat  argument  in  fa- 
vour of  the  German  emigrant,  in  preference  to  the  English, 
who  would  find  himself  almost  as  much  at  home  in  this  coun- 
try as  in  England.  A  great  means  of  insuring  the  faithful 
performance  of  their  contracts,  would  be  to  bring  over  from 
Germany  the  families  of  the  miners,  and  to  allow  them  a 
small  tract  of  land  to  settle  upon.  That  miners  could  be  ob- 
tained from  Germany,  cannot,  we  think,  be  doubted ;  for  al- 
though not  gifted  with  a  great  locomotive  inclination,  they 
would  probably  be  allured  by  the  hopes  of  settling  in  this 
country,  of  providing  for  the  future  maintenance  of  their  fa- 
milies, and  of  receiving  higher  wages. 

Although,  therefore,  we  would  not  positively  assert  that  it 
will  be  expedient  to  import  workmen  from  abroad  in  all  in- 
stances, still,  we  think  that  there  may  be  cases  in  which  such 
an  introduction  of  foreigners  would  be  attended  with  great 
advantages,  and  that  in  this  case  no  country  can  afford  us 
better  miners,  or  men  more  worthy  of  our  confidence,  than 
Germany. 

The  second  difficulty  which  would  attend  labour  in  the 
United  States,  would  be  its  great  expense.  Certainly  this  is 
true  as  respects  the  difference  of  prices.  On  the  continent  of 
Europe,  we  think  the  average  price  of  labour  in  the  mining 
districts  is  under  twenty  cents  per  day.  We  have  seen  many 
places  where  it  did  not  exceed  ten  cents.  In  England,  the 
price  is  higher ;  and  we  think,  in  all  the  mines  of  the  north 
of  England,  it  averages,  for  the  common  miner,  half  a  crown 
per  day  (fifty-five  cents.)  It  is  probable,  that  in  many  parts 
of  the  United  States,  at  least  of  the  Atlantic  states,  and  at 
some  distance  from  the  cities,  we  might  obtain  workmen  for 
nearly  the  same  price.  In  the  western  states,  the  price  would 
be  much  higher.*  The  price  of  labour  is  certainly  an  item 
of  the  first  importance  in  our  art,  since  there  are  many  ope- 


*  Mr.  Schoolcraft  establishes  the  average  price  of  labour  at  Potosi  (Mis- 
souri) to  be  about  two  dollars  per  day. 
11 


82  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

rations  which  require  manual  labour,  and  in  which  it  cannot 
be  replaced  by  machinery.  To  economize  it  must  be  the  prin- 
cipal object  of  the  director's  attention.  He  has  two  ways  of 
doing  this ;  first,  by  using  horses,  mules,  and  other  animals, 
which  will  certainly  be  very  economical  in  many  places,  where 
pasture  is  cheap,  and  provisions  for  these  animals  can  be  ob- 
tained at  a  low  rate.  The  second  method  is  the  frequent  and 
constant  application  of  machinery  wherever  it  is  practicable. 
In  this  respect,  we  may  consider  ourselves  as  fortunate  as 
the  most  favourably  situated  nations  in  Europe.  The  inge- 
nuity and  talent  of  our  mechanics  equal  those  of  the  same 
class  in  any  other  nation  ;  their  inventive  powers  have  alrea- 
dy secured  to  our  country  many  lasting  benefits.  Whether 
we  wish  to  introduce  into  our  mines  the  steam  or  the  water 
power,  our  country  affords  us  great  facilities. 

The  introduction  of  the  steam-engine  into  mines,  has  pro- 
duced such  great  arid  rapid  improvements  in  the  art,  that  we 
hope  America  will  not  be  behindhand  in  employing  it,  espe- 
cially as  no  country  is  so  Avell  provided  with  fuel  as  she  is. 
Equally  well-gifted  is  she  in  the  means  of  setting  up  water 
powers.  No  country  that  we  know  of  presents  such  nume- 
rous rivers,  creeks,  and  streams  of  all  sizes,  as  she  does ; 
thereby  affording  great  falls  of  water,  and  allowing  us  to 
make  a  greater  use  of  this  power  than  any  European  nation. 
These  will  be  our  means  for  counteracting  the  higher  wages 
which  we  will  have  to  give  our  workmen. 

Another  consideration  which  affects  labourers  in  mines,  is 
the  difficulty  which  we  will  probably  experience  in  keeping 
them,  who,  besides  the  natural  bent  for  change,  may  be  allured 
away  by  hopes  of  bettering  their  situation,  a  wish  of  settling 
on  property  of  their  own,  or  by  the  offer  of  better  wages  from 
competitors.  We  hope  that  those  concerned  in  mines  will  un- 
derstand their  interest  better,  than  to  establish  a  system  of 
competition  in  outbidding  their  neighbours,  in  order  to  carry 
off  their  workmen.  Such  a  system  would  be  ruinous  to  them- 
selves, and  of  but  little  profit  to  the  workmen,  upon  whose 
moral  character  it  must  have  a  very  bad  influence,  as  it  pro- 


THE    ART    OF   MINING.  85 

vents  them  from  assuming  regular  habits,  and,  on  the  contra- 
ry, accustoms  them  to  be  in  a  state  of  perpetual  restlessness, 
and  also  to  endeavour  to  take  advantage  of  any  pretext  to 
break  their  contracts  with  their  employers,  whenever  they 
see  the  least  chance  of  benefiting  themselves  by  so  doing.* 

The  best  means  of  keeping  workmen  is,  undoubtedly,  to 
make  oneself  popular  among  them  by  being  impartial  in  all 
instances,  never  departing  from  the  strictest  rules  of  jus- 
tice, never  taking  advantage  of  them,  particularly  in  their 
moments  of  difficulty,  by  lowering  their  wages  unnecessarily. 
It  is  well  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  this  fluctuation  in  the 
price  of  labour,  which  is  always  injurious  to  both  parties. 

A  plan  which  we  think  would  be  attended  with  the  great- 
est benefit,  and  which  we  have  never  seen  used  or  recom- 
mended, would  be,  wherever  the  price  of  lands  is  not  very 
high,  to  interest  the  workmen  in  remaining  on  the  establish- 
ment, by  promising  to  give  them,  after  a  certain  time,  a 
small  tract  of  land,  on  which  they  might,  in  the  meanwhile, 
be  allowed  to  live  free  of  expense;  thus  they  would  find 
themselves  interested  in  improving  the  land  before  it  belong- 
ed to  them,  in  hopes  that  it  might  one  day  become  their  pro- 
perty ;  and  after  having  improved  it,  they  would  be  unwil- 
ling to  leave  the  place,  lest  their  labour  on  the  spot  should 
be  lost.  In  this  manner  they  would  feel  interested  in  re- 
maining at  the  mine  for  several  years,  after  which,  the  force 
of  habit  would  endear  them  to  the  place. 

This  system  would,  we  think,  be  peculiarly  advantageous 
in  the  case  of  Germans,  who  would  be  delighted  at  the  idea 
of  securing  to  themselves  and  family  a  small  property;  with 
this  class  of  men,  promises  of  annuities  to  widows  and  or- 
phan children  of  such  as  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  works, 
or  of  those  who  have  well  deserved  of  the  owners,  would,  we 
think,  have  a  favourable  effect ;  at  any  rate  it  is  certain  that  a 


*  It  is  with  pleasure  that  we  find  that  the  cotton  spinners  of  our  coun- 
try have  very  wisely  refused  to  follow  so  ruinous  a  line  of  conduct  as  re- 
gards their  workmen. 


84  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

great  deal  may  be  effected  in  this  manner,  at  little  expense, 
by  ministering  to  their  comforts,  assisting  them  in  their  ne- 
cessities, showing  particular  attention  to  the  sick  and  wound- 
ed ;  we  have  seen  many  instances  where  such  a  system  had 
been  brought  into  operation  at  a  very  trifling  cost,  and 
by  making  the  directors  of  such  establishments  popular 
among  the  workmen,  produced  the  happiest  effects,  and  at- 
tached them  to  the  spot ;  this  would  be  particularly  desira- 
ble in  this  country,  in  order  to  counteract  their  natural  incli- 
nation for  change. 

IV.  The  nature  and  price  of  the  fuel  which  the  country  af- 
fords, is  the  next  subject  for  consideration ;  also,  the  facilities 
for  obtaining  it  from  a  distance. 

In  this  respect,  it  is  confidently  believed,  that  no  country 
is  so  well  situated  as  ours,  and  that  it  offers  us  advantages 
equal  to  those  of  any  other,  England  herself  not  excepted. 
The  different  kinds  of  fuel  used  are  wood  and  charcoal,  coal 
and  coak,  peat  and  anthracite ;  as  respects  wood,  we  are  bet- 
ter supplied  than  any  nation  in  Europe,  except  Russia  and 
Sweden ;  not  only  our  wood  is  abundant,  but  it  is  excellent ; 
and  we  have  a  greater  variety  than  any  other  country,  so 
that  we  may  select  whichever  we  prefer ;  the  hickory  is  the 
most  valuable  production  of  our  forest,  and  is  unknown  in 
Europe. 

In  the  metallurgical  arts,  wood  is  generally  used  in  the 
state  of  charcoal,  and  for  some  purposes  charcoal  is  the  only 
fuel  that  can  be  used ;  here,  of  course,  our  advantage  over 
other  nations  will  be  great.  In  coal,  and  its  resulting  pro- 
duct coak,  we  are  not  as  yet  so  well  favoured  as  England, 
for  we  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  ascertain  its  presence  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Great  Valley  of  the  Susquehanna ;  all 
our  mines  to  the  westward  will  be  abundantly  supplied  with 
it,  and  should  it  never  be  found  on  this  side,  no  doubt  great 
quantities  of  it  can  be  sent  by  the  canal  between  the  Alle- 
ghany  and  Susquehanna,  which,  we  believe,  it  is  now  admitted 
on  all  hands,  will  soon  follow  the  execution  of  the  Union  Ca- 
nal ;  even  at  present  we  obtain  coal  from  England,  at  a  price 
which  may  be  considered  as  tolerably  reasonable. 


THE   ART  OT1  MIXING.  85 

Peat  is  but  a  poor  substitute  for  wood  or  coal ;  it  is,  how- 
ever, used  in  metallurgy,  especially  where  a  great  heat  is 
not  required,  as  in  the  separation  of  the  mercury  from  the 
silver,  subsequent  to  the  amalgamation,  at  Freyberg  in  Sax- 
ony :  we  have  already  mentioned  tbat  it  was  used  at  Lead- 
hills  in  Scotland,  for  the  purpose  of  smelting  the  lead  ore. 
It  is  probable  that  we  shall  but  seldom  find  ourselves  obliged 
to  recur  to  it ;  at  any  rate,  should  it  be  wanted,  it  will  be 
found  very  abundantly  in  the  United  States. 

Anthracite  is  very  abundant,  and  exists  in  large  quantities 
in  the  United  States :  it  has,  we  believe,  nowhere  been  ap- 
plied, as  yet,  to  the  working  of  ores,  but  may  perhaps  be  used 
with  advantage  by  making  a  few  modifications  in  the  form 
of  the  furnaces. 

Hence,  we  see  that  fuel  is  abundant  and  cheap  in  this  coun- 
try, and  it  may  easily  be  brought  to  the  places  where  it  is 
needed,  on  account  of  the  great  facilities  afforded  by  internal 
navigation. 

V.  The  price  of  the  materials  used,  such  as  timber,  tools, 
gunpowder,  £c.  is  the  fifth  consideration  which  ought  to  pre- 
cede the  working  of  mines.     In  this  respect,  it  is  probable 
that  the  advantages  in  this  country  will  nearly  balance  those 
of  foreign  countries ;  some  articles  will  be  higher  here,  while 
others  will  be  cheaper;  in  timber  we  will  find  a  great  saving, 
which  will  probably  make  up  for  the  additional  expense  in 
iron,  steel,  powder,  £c. 

VI.  Another  object  of  high  importance  is  the  facility  of 
exportation,  and  proximity  of  a  market ;  no  country  in  the 
world  has  been  so  much  favoured  by  nature   as  ours  has 
been  in  this  respect ;  it  is  sufficient  to  cast  our  eyes  upon  the 
map  of  the  United  States,  to  be  convinced  of  our  great  supe- 
riority in  this  respect ;  if  we  confine  our  attention  to  Penn- 
sylvania, the  remark  is  peculiarly  obvious ;  we  may  safely 
ask,  what  country  in  Europe  offers  three  such  streams  as  the 
Delaware,  the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Alleghany,  besides  the 
numberless  tributary  streams,  which  would  well  pass  for  im- 
portant rivers  in  many  other  countries  ? 


86  CONSIDERATIONS    UPON 

The  only  thing  that  is  required  of  us  in  this  respect,  is  to 
improve  the  natural  advantages  which  we  already  possess ; 
to  complete,  as  it  were,  the  work  which  nature  has  so  well 
commenced  ;  for  this,  we  have  but  to  follow  the  example  given 
by  other  nations ;  the  experience  of  England  shows  what  a 
great,  what  an  astonishing  increase  in  national  prosperity 
attends  the  improvement  in  internal  transportation :  the  state 
of  New  York  has  followed  the  example,  and  is  already  reap- 
ing the  reward.  Let  all  the  other  states  reflect  upon  this, 
and  then  by  a  judicious  application  of  funds,  let  them  im- 
prove their  roads  and  navigation ;  the  beneficial  effect  of 
such  measures  will  be  very  great,  both  for  agriculture  and 
the  arts ;  and  among  these,  none  will  derive  more  essential 
benefits  than  the  art  of  mining. 

VII.  The  last  object  which  the  miner  has  to  examine, 
previous  to  commencing  his  operations,  is  the  state  of  the 
laws  on  mining,  existing  in  the  country  in  which  he  thinks 
of  undertaking  works  of  this  nature ;  we  have  seen,  that  in 
this  respect  the  miner  has,  at  present,  in  the  United  States, 
no  laws  to  study  but  those  which  affect  every  kind  of  pro- 
perty in  general. 


The  art  of  mining,  like  all  others,  ought  to  be  undertaken 
qnly  after  mature  reflection  and  deliberation ;  we  never  can 
hope  for  success  in  works  hastily  or  rashly  conceived : 
whenever,  therefore,  we  may  be  desirous  of  introducing  the 
art  of  mining  into  a  new  district,  or  a  new  country,  we  must 
take  time  to  examine  the  subject  coolly  and  deliberately. 
We  have  endeavoured  to  state  the  most  important  points  to 
which  the  miner's  attention  ought  to  be  directed ;  we  have 
likewise  tried  to  examine  how  far  our  country  might  be  said 
to  be  fitted  for  the  reception  of  this  art;  we  believe  that 
there  are  many  places  where  mining  would  succeed  in  this 
country.  Whether  our  reasons  for  believing  this  be  correct 


THE    ART   OF   MINING.  87 

or  not,  is  a  question  upon  which  every  man  acquainted  with 
the  resources  of  the  country  is  competent  to  decide ;  and  we 
shall  think  ourselves  amply  rewarded  for  our  labour,  if 
these  remarks  may  induce  others,  better  acquainted  with  the 
state  of  the  country,  to  examine  the  subject  \  and  whatever 
may  be  the  result  of  their  examination,  we  think  it  will  not 
have  been  an  unimportant  question  to  this  country,  to  ascer- 
tain whether  or  not  the  United  States  are  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced in  the  arts,  to  insure  the  advantageous  introduction 
of  the  ART  or  MINING. 


THE   END. 


'  •»•*  •OXlilOW  ***Xl 


YC   (8900 


962558 


K4- 


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